Illustration of xylophone
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
Examples of xylophone in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
There’s a lot of wood blocks, xylophones, and bells.
—
Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 28 Apr. 2026
The songs will feature bells, xylophones, and other soothing instruments in place of Beyoncé’s vocals, as reported by Billboard.
—Caché McClay, USA Today, 9 Apr. 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
See All Example Sentences for xylophone
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Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 28 Apr. 2026
The songs will feature bells, xylophones, and other soothing instruments in place of Beyoncé’s vocals, as reported by Billboard.
—Caché McClay, USA Today, 9 Apr. 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
See All Example Sentences for xylophone
Cite this Entry
“Xylophone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/xylophone. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids 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
Etymology
from Greek xylo- "wood, of wood" (from xylon "wood") and English -phone "sound, a sound-producing device"
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