Guitar Meaning, Examples & Usage

Meaning 1：stringed instrument (Guitar)

Guitar 🔊

/ɡɪˈtɑːr/

A musical instrument with strings that you play by strumming or plucking to make music.

stringed instrument 🔊

➕

/strɪŋd ˈɪnstrəmənt/

A guitar is a stringed musical instrument typically played by strumming or plucking its six strings with fingers or a pick, producing sound through acoustic resonance or electronic amplification.

📁 Category：Entertainment & Sports 🔖 Level：Beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Spanish 'guitarra', from Greek 'kithara', a stringed instrument.

💡 Mnemonic

Gui sounds like 'gee' and 'tar' like 'star': a guitar makes you a star with strings.

📖 Example

During the campfire, she took out her guitar and played a cheerful song for everyone. 🔊 During the campfire, she took out her guitar and played a cheerful song for everyone.

🔗 Collocations

play the guitar – to perform music using a guitar

acoustic guitar – a guitar that produces sound naturally without electrical amplification

electric guitar – a guitar that requires an amplifier to produce sound

🔄 Synonyms

banjo (n.) – A four- or five-stringed instrument with a round body, similar to a guitar but with a twangy sound.

mandolin (n.) – A stringed instrument with eight strings played with a pick, often used in folk and bluegrass music.

lute (n.) – A plucked stringed instrument from the Renaissance, with a rounded body and a fretted neck.

🌱 Derivatives

guitarist (n.) – a person who plays the guitar

guitar-like (adj.) – resembling a guitar in shape or function

📖 Cultural Story

The guitar's origins trace back to ancient Greek kithara and later Spanish vihuela. It became central to folk, blues, rock, and pop music worldwide.