pedal steel

noun

Definition of pedal steel

: a box-shaped musical instrument 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

— called also pedal steel guitar

Examples of pedal steel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Williamson, whose Facebook profile photo is a legendary, controversial Bigsby guitar, leaning on a pedal steel with a Standel Amp in the background, is looking forward to taking the Pink Hearts show on the road. — Katherine Turman, Billboard, "James Williamson on His New Trio Pink Hearts & the Stooges' Legacy," 21 June 2018 The top-tier studio players on the release include Robby Turner, longtime pedal steel guitarist for the late outlaw-country icon Waylon Jennings. — Chrissie Dickinson, chicagotribune.com, "Country Lakeshake bringing the best, the brightest and everybody else," 19 June 2018 Acoustic guitars, gentle vocal harmonies, pedal steel and steady-rolling beats drive the band’s music. — John Adamian, courant.com, "Wise Old Moon Album Release Show At Bridge Street Live," 5 May 2018 Venetian Snares, on electronics that include real-time processing of the pedal steel. — New York Times, "The Playlist: Christina Aguilera’s Bizarre Puzzle, and 13 More New Songs," 4 May 2018 He's joined by longtime bandmates Val McCallum (guitar), Mauricio Lewak (Drums), Jeff Young (keyboards), Bob Glaub (bass), Alethea Mills (Vocals) and the acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Greg Leisz (guitar, lap steel, pedal steel). — Ed Masley, azcentral, "Summer concerts in Phoenix: Eagles, Post Malone, Logic, Panic! at the Disco, J. Cole, Wiz Khalifa," 15 June 2018 Earlier this week, Newscaster and pedal steel player Bobby Martin were at Rubinowitz’s Springfield, Va., house practicing. — John Kelly, Washington Post, "Tex Rubinowitz is back: The ‘Hot Rod Man’ takes his music out for another spin," 16 May 2018 With mandolin legend Sam Bush, Russ Paul on pedal steel and Matt Smith on cello (of all things), the record just exudes vintage. — Chuck Yarborough, cleveland.com, "John Oates, pal Daryl Hall, join Train for a night of power pop at The Q," 15 May 2018 The Revivalists on the Gentilly Stage at 3:40 p.m. - Powered by an odd pedal steel guitar, organ and sax blend, these dudes can really bring it. — Doug Maccash, NOLA.com, "7 shows not to miss at Jazz Fest 2018, Saturday (May 5)," 5 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pedal steel.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about pedal steel

Dictionary Entries near pedal steel

Statistics for pedal steel

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for pedal steel

The first known use of pedal steel was in 1965

See more words from the same year

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for pedal steel

pedal steel

noun

English Language Learners Definition of pedal steel

: a musical instrument that has strings which are plucked while being pressed with a movable steel bar and a pedal that can change the pitch of the strings

See the full definition for pedal steel in the English Language Learners Dictionary

Comments on pedal steel

What made you want to look up pedal steel? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).