vibraphone

noun

vi·​bra·​phone ˈvī-brə-ˌfōn 

: a percussion instrument resembling the xylophone but having metal bars and motor-driven resonators for sustaining the tone and producing a vibrato

vibraphonist

ˈvī-brə-ˌfō-nist 

noun

Illustration of vibraphone

Examples of vibraphone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The San Jose native was 19 years old and attending the summer program Jazz Camp West for the first time, looking to gain guidance on the vibraphone. —Andrew Gilbert, Mercury News, 25 June 2025

Now based in Los Angeles, Williams is a Washington, D.C., native whose most recent concert here was last fall at La Jolla Athenaeum leading a band that featured young vibraphone sensation Sasha Berliner. —George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 June 2025

By his teenage years, Ayers had managed to perform the piano, flute, steel guitar, trumpet, and drums before honing in on the vibraphone. —Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 6 Mar. 2025

That inflection is exemplified musically by Ayers’s vibraphone and lyrics, which assume the valence of an anthem. —Ivy G. Wilson, Artforum, 1 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

vibra- (in vibration or vibrato) + -phone entry 1

First Known Use

1926, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for vibraphone

• acetone
• anglophone
• baritone
• bourguignon
• buspirone
• chaperon
• chaperone
• cobblestone
• collarbone
• cornerstone
• cortisone
• dictaphone

Kids Definition

vibraphone

noun

vi·​bra·​phone ˈvī-brə-ˌfōn 

: a musical instrument resembling the xylophone but having metal bars and devices for increasing the vibrations

vibraphonist

-ˌfō-nəst 

noun