vibraphone

noun

vi·​bra·​phone ˈvī-brə-ˌfōn 

: a percussion instrument resembling the xylophone but having metal bars and motor-driven resonators for sustaining the tone and producing a vibrato

vibraphonist

ˈvī-brə-ˌfō-nist 

noun

Illustration of vibraphone

Examples of vibraphone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Still, Ayers did not get his first vibraphone until the age of 17. —Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 6 Mar. 2025

Their music splayed Ayers’ pillowy vibraphone tones across languid jazz-funk grooves that formed the bedrock for neo-soul—and, through sampling, much of West Coast hip-hop—to come. —Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 6 Mar. 2025

He was inspired to take up the vibraphone after seeing Lionel Hampton’s Big Band at the age of five, and took piano lessons and sang in the church choir. —Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 6 Mar. 2025

The orchestra foregrounded glistening timbres of harp, celesta, and vibraphone. —Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

vibra- (in vibration or vibrato) + -phone entry 1

First Known Use

1926, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for vibraphone

• acetone
• anglophone
• baritone
• bourguignon
• buspirone
• chaperon
• chaperone
• cobblestone
• collarbone
• cornerstone
• cortisone
• dictaphone

Kids Definition

vibraphone

noun

vi·​bra·​phone ˈvī-brə-ˌfōn 

: a musical instrument resembling the xylophone but having metal bars and devices for increasing the vibrations

vibraphonist

-ˌfō-nəst 

noun