mandolin

noun

man·​do·​lin ˌman-də-ˈlin 

ˈman-də-lən

variants or less commonly mandoline

ˌman-də-ˈlēn 

ˈman-də-lən

1

: a musical instrument of the lute family that has a usually pear-shaped body and fretted neck and four to six pairs of strings

2

usually mandoline [French, from Italian mandolino mandolin] : a kitchen utensil with a blade for slicing and shredding

mandolinist

ˌman-də-ˈli-nist 

noun

Illustration of mandolin

• mandolin 1

Examples of mandolin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

String player Matt Worley often stole the spotlight, making his banjo sound like a mandolin, while cellist Barney Morse-Brown ably covered the bass role, plucking the strings more often than bowing them. —Thor Christensen, Dallas Morning News, 19 Mar. 2026

Using a mandolin, thinly slice onion into rings about 1/16-inch thick. —Marianne Williams, Southern Living, 14 Mar. 2026

Still, Bale has a couple of nice moments as Mandras, a Greek fisherman who loses his fiancée (Penelope Cruz) to a mandolin-playing pacifist (Cage, of course) but, all told, is pretty reasonable about it. —Tim Grierson, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2026

Women join in on guitar, mandolin, and accordion. —Hazlitt, 4 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Italian mandolino, diminutive of mandola

First Known Use

1707, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for mandolin

• aneurin
• crystallin
• eosin
• porphyrin
• underpin
• violin
• akin
• auxin
• buckskin
• chagrin
• deerskin
• foreskin

Kids Definition

mandolin

noun

man·​do·​lin ˌman-də-ˈlin 

ˈman-dᵊl-ən

variants also mandoline

ˌman-də-ˈlēn 

ˈman-dᵊl-ən

: a stringed instrument with a pear-shaped body and four to six pairs of strings played by plucking