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
Kevin DettmarExamples of pedal steel in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Post held his mic in one hand and his cigarette in the other to sing the track, a pedal steel guitar coming in for the assist.
—John Lonsdale, Rolling Stone, 14 Apr. 2025
While distortion-heavy guitar still features on the album, it’s paired with instruments like the cello, violin, pedal steel and synth, as well as vocal modulation in the forms of Autotune and Vocoder.
—James Factora, Them., 2 Apr. 2025
There’s a sense of transcendence running through fABLE, with most songs resolving in a major key, carried by propulsive percussion and a whole lot of pedal steel.
—Leah Lu, Rolling Stone, 7 Apr. 2025
The song begins as a classic melancholy country pop waltz, complete with pedal steel, though a glimmering synth underneath betrays that this isn’t your average Patsy Cline song.
—James Factora, Them., 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pedal steel
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John Lonsdale, Rolling Stone, 14 Apr. 2025
While distortion-heavy guitar still features on the album, it’s paired with instruments like the cello, violin, pedal steel and synth, as well as vocal modulation in the forms of Autotune and Vocoder.
—James Factora, Them., 2 Apr. 2025
There’s a sense of transcendence running through fABLE, with most songs resolving in a major key, carried by propulsive percussion and a whole lot of pedal steel.
—Leah Lu, Rolling Stone, 7 Apr. 2025
The song begins as a classic melancholy country pop waltz, complete with pedal steel, though a glimmering synth underneath betrays that this isn’t your average Patsy Cline song.
—James Factora, Them., 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pedal steel
Cite this Entry
“Pedal steel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pedal%20steel. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
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