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

Can a song without readily identifiable guitars, drums, or vocals still scan as metal? —Brad Sanders, Pitchfork, 8 June 2026

The act tonight was the Messthetics, a punk-prog-jazz outfit, featuring the drummer and the bassist from Fugazi (Brendan Canty and Joe Lally), a guitar wizard (Anthony Pirog), and a sax man (James Brandon Lewis). —Nick Paumgarten, New Yorker, 8 June 2026

Lifeson’s closing guitar solo, looping through arpeggios, managed to take in all of that emotion and quadruple it. —Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 8 June 2026

In 1995, Brendan Paul drove to Las Vegas with a microwave, a guitar, $400, and the dream of becoming an Elvis impersonator. —Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 June 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)