violin

noun

vi·​o·​lin ˌvī-ə-ˈlin 

: a bowed stringed instrument having four strings tuned at intervals of a fifth and a usual range from G below middle C upward for more than 4¹/₂ octaves and having a shallow body, shoulders at right angles to the neck, a fingerboard without frets, and a curved bridge

violinist

ˌvī-ə-ˈli-nist 

noun

violinistic

ˌvī-ə-lə-ˈni-stik 

adjective

Illustration of violin

• 1 bridge
• 2 sound hole
• 3 soundboard
• 4 fingerboard
• 5 pegs
• 6 scroll
• 7 tailpiece
• g G-string
• d D-string
• a A-string
• e E-string

Examples of violin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

It’s been 20 years since Times columnist Steve Lopez first spotted a man named Nathaniel Anthony Ayers trying to play a tune on a violin with two strings in downtown’s Pershing Square. —Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2025

Betty longs to possess magical powers like everyone else in her freaky family (even Staniel), but her only real talents are singing and playing music on her hot-pink violin. —Dina Gachman, New York Times, 4 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

Meng ran the violin theft scheme from August 2020 to April 2023. —Michael Loria, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Italian violino, from viola "viola, viol" + -ino, diminutive suffix, going back to Latin -īnus -ine entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1576, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for violin

• aneurin
• crystallin
• eosin
• mandolin
• porphyrin
• underpin
• akin
• auxin
• buckskin
• chagrin
• deerskin
• foreskin

Kids Definition

violin

noun

vi·​o·​lin ˌvī-ə-ˈlin 

1

: a stringed musical instrument with four strings that is usually held against the shoulder under the chin and played with a bow

2

: violinist