Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

guitar

/ɡɪˈtɑɹ/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.48 in modern English

Syllables: gui-tar
IPA: /ɡɪˈtɑɹ/

7

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A stringed musical instrument, of European origin, usually with a fretted fingerboard and six strings, played with the fingers or a plectrum (guitar pick).

noun

Any type of musical instrument of the lute family, characterized by a flat back, along with a neck whose upper surface is in the same plane as the soundboard, with strings along the neck and parallel to the soundboard.

verb

To play the guitar.

Informal

Example Sentences

"Learning to strum the guitar rhythmically is essential."
"She was carrying her guitar in a fancily-decorated case."
"The band is looking for a new guitar player."
"We guitared and drummed and head banged and pianoed."

Etymology

Etymology tree Pre-Greekder. Ancient Greek κῐθᾰ́ρᾱ (kĭthắrā)bor. Aramaic קיתרא (qīṯārā)bor. Arabic قِيثَارَة (qīṯāra)bor. Old Spanish guitarra Spanish guitarrabor. English guitar From Spanish guitarra, from Arabic قِيثَارَة (qīṯāra), from Ancient Greek κῐθᾰ́ρᾱ (kĭthắrā). Doublet of cithara, cither, and zither, but not related to sitar.

Origin

Source language: Spanish

Word Breakdown

Root: guitarra, قِيثَارَة, κῐθᾰ́ρᾱ

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ɡɪˈtɑɹ/
British English: /ɡɪˈtɑː/

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

guitars (plural) guittar (alternative, obsolete) gittar (alternative, pronunciation spelling) guitars (present, singular) guitaring (participle, present) guitared (participle, past) guitared (past)

Derived Forms

banjitar clitar contraguitar guitalele guitalin guitarfish guitarist guitaristic guitarless guitarlike guitarmony guitarscape

Phrases

acoustic guitar air guitar armónico guitar baritone guitar Baroque guitar bass guitar bottleneck guitar bowed guitar

Frequently Paired Words

capo capotasto plectrum pick

Synonyms

axe gat guitar

Rhymes With

are far car star all-star bar hr pr mar par ar bizarre

Questions

How do you pronounce guitar?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɡɪˈtɑɹ/.
What does guitar mean?: A stringed musical instrument, of European origin, usually with a fretted fingerboard and six strings, played with the fingers or a plectrum (guitar pick).
Where does guitar come from?: It is traced to Spanish.

How to pronounce guitar

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “guitar”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɡɪˈtɑɹ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “guitar” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.