A guitar is a musical instrument with six strings and a long neck. You play the guitar by plucking or strumming the strings.
guitar in British English
(ɡɪˈtɑː)
noun
music
a plucked stringed instrument originating in Spain, usually having six strings, a flat sounding board with a circular sound hole in the centre, a flat back, and a fretted fingerboard. Range: more than three octaves upwards from E on the first leger line below the bass staff
See also electric guitar, bass guitar, Hawaiian guitar
Derived forms
guitarist (guiˈtarist)
noun
guitar-like (guiˈtar-ˌlike)
adjective
Word origin
C17: from Spanish guitarra, from Arabic qītār, from Greek kitharacithara
guitar in American English
(gɪˈtɑr)
noun
a musical instrument related to the lute but having a flat back and usually six strings that are plucked or strummed withthe fingers or a plectrum
Derived forms
guitarist (guiˈtarist)
noun
Word origin
Fr guitare < OSp guitarra < Ar qītār < Gr kithara, lyre, lute
He said he had always wanted to be a singer and had been playing guitar for six months.
The Sun (2016)
He talked politics, played guitar and sang.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It's a pretty collection of jazz and blues covers set to a simple guitar and upright bass setting.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
When he discovered that two of the officers played guitar and another was a drummer, he explained his techniques.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
A triathlete, he also plays the guitar and keyboards.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
I bought myself quite an expensive electric bass guitar, so it could be about an electric bass guitar.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
She is tiny, and the bass guitar is huge, but the experience is thrilling.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He said:'I can play the guitar.
The Sun (2017)
When he takes off on one of his epic guitar solos, you would think he's taking off into the cosmos.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He bolstered himself with endless guitar solos.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
That was the very first thing that introduced me to playing guitar.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The guitars and bass seemed to help.
Christianity Today (2000)
Why did you decide to bring back guitar sounds on this album?
The Sun (2011)
The air guitar scene is very friendly and supportive of women.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
With that came the entertainment of piano or acoustic guitar and songs.
The Sun (2010)
She had a guitar on her back.
The Sun (2012)
So how did air guitar shed its shame?
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Is it good guitar music is back?
The Sun (2013)
This time their chiming guitars and bouncy bass lines were as crystal clear as the air around them.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Probably my guitars and other instruments.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
These include the possibility that musicians may stop using its products or that future groups may ditch the guitar for other instruments.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Then comes the thunder of a bass guitar and the rattle of drums from the shed at the bottom of the garden.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
There's more to life than gently strumming an acoustic guitar though.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Spent the next 42 years failing to get my guitar to sound like his.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Indie songs are a combination of catchy riffs, guitar solos and lyrics.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Few play an acoustic guitar with such force, which makes his solo radio spots surprisingly effective.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
My guitar sounds like it's going through the roof.
The Sun (2014)
He used to come home and shut himself in his room, playing the guitar and piano.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Incredible guitar solos, very innovative drum beat going on behind it that nobody has to know about.
The Sun (2014)
Plays the drums and guitar.
Barrett, J (ed) ITF World of Tennis (1993)
Word lists with
guitar
instrument
In other languages
guitar
British English: guitar /ɡɪˈtɑː/ NOUN
A guitar is a wooden musical instrument with six strings which are plucked or strummed.
American English: guitar
Arabic: جيتار
Brazilian Portuguese: violão
Chinese: 吉他
Croatian: gitara
Czech: kytara
Danish: guitar
Dutch: gitaar
European Spanish: guitarra
Finnish: kitara
French: guitare
German: Gitarre
Greek: κιθάρα
Italian: chitarra
Japanese: ギター
Korean: 기타 음악
Norwegian: gitar
Polish: gitara
European Portuguese: guitarra
Romanian: chitară
Russian: гитара
Latin American Spanish: guitarra
Swedish: gitarr
Thai: กีตาร์
Turkish: gitar
Ukrainian: гітара
Vietnamese: đàn guitar
All related terms of 'guitar'
air guitar
an imaginary guitar played while miming to rock music
bass guitar
a guitar that has the same pitch and tuning as a double bass , usually electrically amplified
blues guitar
blues guitar music
guitar music
Music is the pattern of sounds produced by people singing or playing instruments.
rhythm guitar
a guitar used to provide rhythm , particularly during a musical ensemble
slide guitar
a technique of guitar playing derived from bottleneck , using a steel or glass tube on one finger across the frets
steel guitar
a type of guitar , now esp. an electric guitar, with raised metal strings , held on the lap or mounted on legs and played by plucking while sliding a steel bar across the strings to change the pitch
acoustic guitar
an ordinary guitar , which produces its normal sound through the sounding board and is not amplified in any way
electric guitar
an electronically amplified guitar , used mainly in pop music
Hawaiian guitar
a lap-held steel-strung guitar with a wood or metal body, tuned to an open chord and played with a slide
Spanish guitar
the classic form of the guitar ; a six-stringed instrument with a waisted body and a central sound hole
pedal steel guitar
a floor-mounted, multi-neck, lap steel guitar with each set of strings tuned to a different open chord and foot pedals to raise or lower the pitch
pedal steel (guitar)
a steel guitar mounted on legs and equipped with pedals that serve as an additional means of changing pitch
