Illustration of mbira
: an African musical instrument that consists of a wooden or gourd resonator and a varying number of tuned metal or wooden strips that vibrate when plucked
Examples of mbira in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Sampling gamelan, marimba, mbira, and other idiophones, Friedman summons a microtonal riot of weightless pings that disorients and delights in equal measure.
—
Daniel Bromfield, Pitchfork, 9 Apr. 2026
In Zimbabwe, mbira music can be played in secular settings; indeed, the Zimbabwean musician Thomas Mapfumo’s signal achievement was to transform mbira ballads, running electricity through the folk tunes, to suit a Western-style band format.
—Percy Zvomuya, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2024
In the early eighties, Laraaji was experimenting with the kalimba, an iteration of the Zimbabwean mbira, a wooden board with staggered metal tines, designed to be played with the thumbs.
—Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2023
Enjoy a relaxing, pretty tune in a relaxing, pretty place, played on the kalimba, an instrument based on the mbira, a traditional African finger harp.
—Aj Willingham, CNN, 15 May 2020
Zimdancehall was one of the emergent new genres — a local spinoff of Jamaican dancehall that used Shona instead of Jamaican English, and sometimes incorporated the mbira, a metal keyboard closely associated with traditional Zimbabwean music.
—New York Times, 7 Sep. 2019
The mbira consists of a set of steel tines suspended over a sound box.
—Chris Lee, Ars Technica, 17 Sep. 2018
Grover and his team turned to the mbira to find an answer.
—David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, 13 Sep. 2018
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Daniel Bromfield, Pitchfork, 9 Apr. 2026
In Zimbabwe, mbira music can be played in secular settings; indeed, the Zimbabwean musician Thomas Mapfumo’s signal achievement was to transform mbira ballads, running electricity through the folk tunes, to suit a Western-style band format.
—Percy Zvomuya, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2024
In the early eighties, Laraaji was experimenting with the kalimba, an iteration of the Zimbabwean mbira, a wooden board with staggered metal tines, designed to be played with the thumbs.
—Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2023
Enjoy a relaxing, pretty tune in a relaxing, pretty place, played on the kalimba, an instrument based on the mbira, a traditional African finger harp.
—Aj Willingham, CNN, 15 May 2020
Zimdancehall was one of the emergent new genres — a local spinoff of Jamaican dancehall that used Shona instead of Jamaican English, and sometimes incorporated the mbira, a metal keyboard closely associated with traditional Zimbabwean music.
—New York Times, 7 Sep. 2019
The mbira consists of a set of steel tines suspended over a sound box.
—Chris Lee, Ars Technica, 17 Sep. 2018
Grover and his team turned to the mbira to find an answer.
—David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, 13 Sep. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Mbira.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mbira. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
