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

Vennema compared the process to playing a guitar string, where each string responds to a particular note. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 28 Oct. 2026

Its songs are littered with black holes, disasters, nuclear bombs; there are guttural screams and onslaughts of distorted guitar. — Marissa Lorusso, Pitchfork, 28 Oct. 2026

Every strum of her guitar and every song the band performs directly benefits the Rapha Clinic. — La'tasha Givens, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026

In addition to lead vocals, Gosling played piano, guitar, synthesizer, percussion, cello and bass on that album. — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 27 Oct. 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)