pedal steel
noun
variants
or pedal steel guitar
plural pedal steels or pedal steel guitars
: a box-shaped electric steel guitar with legs that has usually 10 strings which can be altered in pitch by the use of pedals and which are plucked while being pressed with a movable steel bar
[Ben] Keith broke into the business playing pedal steel on Patsy Cline's "I Fall to Pieces" …—
Kevin Dettmar
compare hawaiian guitar, lap steel
Kevin DettmarExamples of pedal steel in a Sentence
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Musically, Middle of Nowhere leans into traditions shaped in small-town Texas dancehalls (pedal steel, Norteño accordion and other border-blurring textures) but rarely plays it straight.
—Jonathan Cohen, SPIN, 1 May 2026
Now, on her seventh studio album, Middle of Nowhere, Musgraves is letting the wind take her all the way back home, to a place where there’s no cell service, bulls roam freely, and gorgeous pedal steel guitars are plentiful.
—Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 30 Apr. 2026
The evening was elevated by live music from a local country band, complete with a pedal steel guitar, reminiscent of Lee Hazlewood.
—Alexandra Genova, TheWeek, 7 Apr. 2026
Rounding out the package in an oh-so-Texas fashion is pedal steel player Tony Rincon.
—Chris Barilla, PEOPLE, 3 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pedal steel
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Jonathan Cohen, SPIN, 1 May 2026
Now, on her seventh studio album, Middle of Nowhere, Musgraves is letting the wind take her all the way back home, to a place where there’s no cell service, bulls roam freely, and gorgeous pedal steel guitars are plentiful.
—Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 30 Apr. 2026
The evening was elevated by live music from a local country band, complete with a pedal steel guitar, reminiscent of Lee Hazlewood.
—Alexandra Genova, TheWeek, 7 Apr. 2026
Rounding out the package in an oh-so-Texas fashion is pedal steel player Tony Rincon.
—Chris Barilla, PEOPLE, 3 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pedal steel
Cite this Entry
“Pedal steel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pedal%20steel. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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