guitar

guitar — noun

1. a musical tool for making sound, usually made from wood, with a long neck, a fla

1.nounA1
Definition

a musical tool for making sound, usually made from wood, with a long neck, a flat back, and six strings that you touch with your fingers to create music

Example

Leila took her guitar to the park and played for her friends.

play + the/an instrument — generic activity

The old guitar in the corner has only five strings left.

countable noun with descriptive adjective

Common collocations
  • play the guitar
  • practice the guitar
  • learn guitar
  • acoustic guitar
  • electric guitar
  • guitar lesson
  • guitar teacher
  • guitar string
  • guitar case
Synonyms
  • acoustic guitar

    a specific type of guitar with a hollow body that amplifies sound naturally, without electricity

  • electric guitar

    a guitar that needs an amplifier to produce a louder sound, common in rock and pop music

Grammar Patterns

the guitar (generic)

a guitar (specific)

play + the + guitar

Common Mistakes

I play violin.
I play the violin.
In English, use 'the' before a musical instrument when talking about playing it as a general activity.
I have two guitaries.
I have two guitars.
The plural of 'guitar' is 'guitars' ('-s', not '-ies').

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

An acoustic guitar and an electric guitar are both types of guitar, but they differ in how they produce sound: an acoustic guitar has a hollow wooden body that amplifies the strings naturally, while an electric guitar uses magnetic pickups and needs an amplifier to be heard clearly. A ukulele looks like a small guitar but has only four strings and a higher, lighter sound. A banjo has a round body with a drum-like head and a brighter, twangier tone, commonly used in folk and bluegrass music. A lute is an older instrument with a rounded back and a softer, warmer sound, mostly heard in Renaissance and Baroque music. If you want to play folk songs around a campfire, an acoustic guitar is the best choice; for a rock concert, you would need an electric guitar and an amplifier.

acoustic guitarelectric guitarukulelebanjolute

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • play the guitar
  • learn to play the guitar
  • practice the guitar
  • teach guitar
  • strum a guitar

Prepositions

  • on the guitar
  • with a guitar
  • for guitar

Etymology

GreekLatinSpanishEnglish

The word 'guitar' entered English from Spanish 'guitarra', which came from Latin 'cithara', borrowed from Ancient Greek 'κιθάρα' (kithara) — a type of lyre-like string instrument played in ancient times. The instrument itself changed shape over centuries, but the name stayed.