guitar

noun

gui·​tar gə-ˈtär 

gi-

especially Southern and Midland US also ˈgi-ˌtär

: a flat-bodied stringed instrument with a long fretted neck and usually six strings played with a pick or with the fingers

guitarist

gə-ˈtär-ist 

gi-

noun

Illustration of guitar

• 1 electric
• 2 acoustic

Examples of guitar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Hassett’s tenacious acoustic guitar figure is stark and dusky like early Leonard Cohen, oozing low strings and a big oily bass. — Brian Howe, Pitchfork, 21 July 2026

Then Eckhardt, with her electric guitar, began to ascend the crane, pausing to perform rock-star maneuvers. — Lauren Oyler, New Yorker, 20 July 2026

Langley, 27, handled the mishap with ease and slipped into a Baltimore Ravens jersey before picking up her guitar and carrying on with the show at M&T Bank Stadium. — Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 20 July 2026

Behind him, band co-founder Paul Leary, bent over his electric guitar, is going for maximum dissonance. — Steve Appleford, SPIN, 20 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

French guitare, from Spanish guitarra, from Arabic qītār, from Greek kithara cithara

First Known Use

1668, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing guitar

• air guitar
• bass guitar
• bottleneck guitar
• Hawaiian guitar
• lap steel guitar
• pedal steel guitar
• resonator guitar
• resophonic guitar
• steel guitar

Rhymes for guitar

• adar
• afar
• ajar
• alar
• alvar
• bazaar
• bizarre
• boxcar
• boyar
• bulbar
• cachar
• cigar

Kids Definition

guitar

noun

gui·​tar gə-ˈtär 

: a stringed instrument with a flat body, a long neck with frets, and usually six strings that are played with the fingers or with a pick

guitarist

-əst 

noun

Etymology

from French guitare "guitar," derived from Arabic qītār (same meaning)