guitar
Other forms: guitars
A guitar is a musical instrument with a long neck and strings. When you play the guitar, you press the strings with one hand to make a note, and strum with the other hand (unless, of course, you are playing air guitar).
The section of a guitar where your fingers form a note is called the "fingerboard." An acoustic guitar has a hollow body that vibrates with warm sound when you pluck or strum the strings, and an electric guitar is solid and plugs into an amplifier that projects the sound. The word guitar comes from the Spanish guitarra, which has its roots in the Greek kithara, a lyre-like stringed instrument.
Definitions of guitar
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a stringed instrument usually having six strings; played by strumming or plucking
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types:
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acoustic guitar
sound is not amplified by electrical means
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bass guitar
the guitar with six strings that has the lowest pitch
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cither, cithern, citole, cittern, gittern
a 16th century musical instrument resembling a guitar with a pear-shaped soundbox and wire strings
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electric guitar
a guitar whose sound is amplified by electrical means
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Hawaiian guitar, steel guitar
guitar whose steel strings are twanged while being pressed with a movable steel bar for a glissando effect
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uke, ukulele
a small guitar having four strings
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type of:
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stringed instrument
a musical instrument in which taut strings provide the source of sound
Pronunciation
US
/gəˈtɑr/
UK
/gɪˈtɑ/
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘guitar'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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