: a percussion instrument of Latin American origin made of a serrated gourd and played by scraping a stick along its surface

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web As did Romeu, Mr. Virelles plays with accompaniment from just a guiro, the notched and open-ended gourd used for percussion, played here with delicate authority by Rafael Ábalos. Larry Blumenfeld, WSJ, 29 Oct. 2018 But overall, the album is vintage Romeo in its sophisticated, often jazzy chord and tempo changes, adapted to bachata’s trademark guitar and guiro backbone. Billboard Staff, Billboard, 12 Dec. 2017 The band of seven musicians, including two singers, will play the cuartro, guitar, congas, bongos, and guiro. Courant Community, 18 Sep. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'guiro.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

American Spanish güiro, literally, calabash

First Known Use

1898, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of guiro was in 1898

Dictionary Entries Near guiro

Cite this Entry

“Guiro.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/guiro. Accessed 31 Mar. 2023.

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