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
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.
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

Word History

First Known Use

1959, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pedal steel was in 1959

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Cite this Entry

“Pedal steel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pedal%20steel. Accessed 6 May. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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