xylophone

[ zahy-luh-fohn ]

/ ˈzaɪ ləˌfoʊn /

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See synonyms for xylophone on Thesaurus.com

noun

a musical instrument consisting of a graduated series of wooden bars, usually sounded by striking with small wooden hammers.

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Origin of xylophone

First recorded in 1865–70; xylo- + -phone

OTHER WORDS FROM xylophone

xy·lo·phon·ic

[zahy-luh-fon-ik], /ˌzaɪ ləˈfɒn ɪk/, adjectivexy·lo·phon·ist

[zahy-luh-foh-nist, zahy-lof-uh-nist, zi-], /ˈzaɪ ləˌfoʊ nɪst, zaɪˈlɒf ə nɪst, zɪ-/, noun

Words nearby xylophone

xyloid, xylol, xylophage, xylophagous, xylophilous, xylophone, xylorimba, xylose, xylostroma, xylotomous, xylotomy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use xylophone in a sentence

As a cursor pans from left to right across the image of the galactic center, showing a 400-light-year expanse, Chandra X-ray observations, played on the xylophone, trace filaments of superhot gas.
Turning space images into music makes astronomy more accessible|Maria Temming|October 16, 2020|Science News
I later learned to play the xylophone, the violin and the saxophone.
Before working on spacecraft, this engineer overcame self-doubt|Carolyn Wilke|April 7, 2020|Science News For Students
After much thought and reflection, I have decided to pursue my first loves--modern dance and the xylophone.
Laura Ingraham Temporarily Off-Air|David Frum|November 27, 2012|DAILY BEAST
My ribs are like a xylophone, and the knobs of my spine stick up like ponderous cairns in the landscape of my back.
Live Nude Girl Bares All|Lizzie Stark|February 20, 2009|DAILY BEAST

It thrashed its bony arms impatiently and its ribs rattled like a xylophone.
Myths And Legends Of Our Own Land, Complete|Charles M. Skinner
So they began to cuss, amiable, and throw down dollars on the bar till it sounded like a selection on the xylophone.
The Gentle Grafter|O. Henry
The neighbouring forest was soon echoing the strident notes of xylophone, banjo, ocarina and trombone.
Indo-China and Its Primitive People|Henry Baudesson
A very good idea of the psaltery and dulcimer may be obtained from the xylophone.
How the Piano Came to Be|Ellye Howell Glover
Saint-Saëns has even utilized the barbarous xylophone, whose proper place is the variety hall, in his "Danse Macabre."
How to Listen to Music, 7th ed.|Henry Edward Krehbiel

British Dictionary definitions for xylophone

xylophone

/ (ˈzaɪləˌfəʊn) /

noun

music a percussion instrument consisting of a set of wooden bars of graduated length. It is played with hard-headed hammers

Derived forms of xylophone

xylophonic (ˌzaɪləˈfɒnɪk), adjectivexylophonist (zaɪˈlɒfənɪst), noun

Word Origin for xylophone

C19: from xylo- + -phone

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

xylophone

Origin of xylophone

OTHER WORDS FROM xylophone

Words nearby xylophone

Words related to xylophone

How to use xylophone in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for xylophone

Derived forms of xylophone

Word Origin for xylophone