steel guitar
Americannoun
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an acoustic, handheld guitar having a metal resonator and producing a wailing, variable sound.
-
a pedal steel guitar.
-
a Hawaiian guitar.
noun
Etymology
Origin of steel guitar
First recorded in 1925–30
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Tammy Wynette had it; just listen to her mourn how “the sun will never shine in Apartment #9” and your ear will catch the throb in her throat that echoes the song’s steel guitar.
From Salon ● May 15, 2026
Cortez’s parents came up with the idea of steel guitar lessons, thinking they might improve his performance in his Hawaiian music ensemble, where he plays the ukulele.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
Indian musicians began adapting their own classical music for steel guitar, and in Africa, the quest to replicate the glissando effect begat a local technique dubbed “Hauyani” after the word “Hawaiian.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
It wasn’t until he was 14, hearing his older brother play Hawaiian music on his steel guitar at home, that Akaka’s interest in the gliding style was piqued.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
We stood together, our trio at the corner of the stage, and listened as a steel guitar started off the first song.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
