Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

xylophone

/ˈzaɪləˌfoʊn/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.37 in modern English

Syllables: xy-lo-phone
IPA: /ˈzaɪləˌfoʊn/

24

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any musical instrument (percussion idiophone) made of wooden slats graduated so as to make the sounds of the scale when struck with a small drumstick-like mallet; the standard Western concert xylophone or one of its derivatives.

verb

To play a xylophone or to play something else as though it was a xylophone.

verb

To move above a ridged surface or series of surfaces so as to hit every ridge, in a manner similar to playing quickly and sequentially on a xylophone.

Example Sentences

"All I know how to play on my xylophone is "Mary Had a Little Lamb". Would you like to hear it?"
"my eager fingers xylophoning over the memories"
"Like a cat, I arch into the back of the bench, my spine xylophoning along the slats while the tension of the day slowly drains out of me. I'm totally chill and mellow."
"The others waged active war, claws xylophoning across Jack's pinwheeling swords."
"His right hand, the good one, found one of Glass's ankles, pulled. Glass fell, her ulna, clavicle, pevis, and kneecap xylophoning along stair edges."

Etymology

From xylo- (“of wood”) + -phone (“sound”).

Word Breakdown

Prefix: xylo
Suffix: phone

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈzaɪləˌfoʊn/
British English: /ˈzaɪ.ləˌfəʊn/

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Law.

Inflected Forms

xylophones (plural) xylophones (present, singular) xylophoning (participle, present) xylophoned (participle, past) xylophoned (past)

Derived Forms

xylophonist

Phrases

concert xylophone metal xylophone stone xylophone

Frequently Paired Words

glockenspiel marimba sticcado vibraphone

Synonyms

marimba

Questions

How do you pronounce xylophone?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈzaɪləˌfoʊn/.
What does xylophone mean?: Any musical instrument (percussion idiophone) made of wooden slats graduated so as to make the sounds of the scale when struck with a small drumstick-like mallet; the standard Western concert xylophone or one of its derivatives.
Where does xylophone come from?: From xylo- (“of wood”) + -phone (“sound”).

How to pronounce xylophone

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