xylophone

noun

xy·​lo·​phone ˈzī-lə-ˌfōn 

also ˈzi-

: a percussion instrument consisting of a series of wooden bars graduated in length to produce the musical scale, supported on belts of straw or felt, and sounded by striking with two small wooden hammers

xylophonist

ˈzī-lə-ˌfō-nist 

also ˈzi-

noun

Illustration of xylophone

Examples of xylophone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Some seats, with their backs to the White House, will be for the United States Marine Band, with a xylophone, a keyboard and lots of sheet music stands in place. — Mark Puleo, New York Times, 11 June 2026

Broadway buildings are adorned with Times Square-style marquees, massive drum kits anchor the jazz section, and huge xylophones and maracas add color to the calypso buildings. — Eve Chen, USA Today, 11 June 2026

Frank’s musical vocabulary, especially as instruments like harp, xylophone and mariarchi-like brass are added, is frequently transfixing. — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026

While kindergarten through second grade students are equipped with percussion instruments such as shakers to learn basic rhythm lessons, and fifth-graders have wind instruments and xylophones for their music lessons, the third- and fourth-graders didn’t have any instruments. — Julie Gallant, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for xylophone

• acetone
• anglophone
• baritone
• bourguignon
• buspirone
• chaperon
• chaperone
• cobblestone
• collarbone
• cornerstone
• cortisone
• dictaphone

Kids Definition

xylophone

noun

xy·​lo·​phone ˈzī-lə-ˌfōn 

: a musical instrument consisting of a series of wooden bars varying in length and sounded by striking with two wooden hammers

xylophonist

-ˌfō-nəst 

noun

Etymology

from Greek xylo- "wood, of wood" (from xylon "wood") and English -phone "sound, a sound-producing device"