guitar

noun

gui·​tar gə-ˈtär 

gi-,

 especially Southern and Midland US also  ˈgi-ˌtär

: a flat-bodied stringed instrument with a long fretted neck and usually six strings played with a pick or with the fingers

guitarist

gə-ˈtär-ist 

gi-

noun

Illustration of guitar

• 1 electric
• 2 acoustic

Examples of guitar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Lukather also received acclaim for working widely as a session musician, playing guitar on more than 1,500 records. —Victoria Edel, People.com, 16 Apr. 2025

Appropriately rad retro music, full of driving guitar riffs and bold synths, puts you in the perfect headspace for over-the-top combat. —Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 16 Apr. 2025

Frontman Rob Halford, forever clad in studded-black leather, leans into his mic to sing the song’s lyrics about hunting down his prey, taking pauses during the guitar solos for prowling the stage and wagging his head. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2025

Musical groups include Sam Powell playing the guitar, Garden Variety Band, Bobo Czarnowski and Drew Cady, Time Bandits and Haywire. —Julie Gallant, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French guitare, from Spanish guitarra, from Arabic qītār, from Greek kithara cithara

First Known Use

1668, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing guitar

• air guitar
• bottleneck guitar
• Hawaiian guitar
• lap steel guitar
• pedal steel guitar
• resonator guitar
• resophonic guitar
• steel guitar

Rhymes for guitar

• adar
• afar
• ajar
• alar
• ansar
• bazaar
• bizarre
• boxcar
• boyar
• bulbar
• cachar
• cigar

Kids Definition

guitar

noun

gui·​tar gə-ˈtär 

: a stringed instrument with a flat body, a long neck with frets, and usually six strings that are played with the fingers or with a pick

guitarist

-əst 

noun

Etymology

from French guitare "guitar," derived from Arabic qītār (same meaning)