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

Examples of pedal steel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The smoothness of Knock Knock echoes through the rolling mid-tempo grooves of Stiltz’s unshowy arrangements, featuring drifting pedal steel from Theo Stocks and tasteful embellishments from Ana Roxanne on piano and vocals. — Harry Thorfinn-George, Pitchfork, 22 Oct. 2026

Jonny Fung played pedal steel guitar during the recording date, marking another change. — Tom Roland, Billboard, 21 Oct. 2026

People that knew the Burritos knew that that was possible from a pedal steel. — Chris Willman, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026

Detamore was known for playing the pedal steel guitar since the 1970s and continued a successful career in country music ever since. — Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 8 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1959, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for pedal steel

• bookmobile
• cochineal
• nonideal
• peroneal
• philomel
• snowmobile
• waterwheel
• abele
• alkyl
• anneal
• appeal
• cartwheel