xylophone

noun

xy·​lo·​phone ˈzī-lə-ˌfōn 

 also  ˈzi-

: a percussion instrument consisting of a series of wooden bars graduated in length to produce the musical scale, supported on belts of straw or felt, and sounded by striking with two small wooden hammers

xylophonist

ˈzī-lə-ˌfō-nist 

 also  ˈzi-

noun

Illustration of xylophone

Examples of xylophone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To represent the spirits’ return, men dress in masks and plant-fiber costumes and dance through the streets accompanied by drums and xylophones. —Matt Ralphs, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Oct. 2024

Lowing strings and luminous horns were punctuated by brisk xylophones. —Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2024

Janis started out playing the xylophone before moving with his mother, Hattie, and sister in 1936 to New York to study piano with Josef and Rosina Lhévinne and then Adele Marcus. —Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Mar. 2024

To capture Midler’s exquisite comedic timing along with Winifred Sanderson’s dark side, Debney mixed whimsical instruments like xylophones and marimbas with low woodwinds like bass clarinet and bassoon. —Lindsay Kusiak, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Aug. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

xylophone

noun

xy·​lo·​phone ˈzī-lə-ˌfōn 

: a musical instrument consisting of a series of wooden bars varying in length and sounded by striking with two wooden hammers

xylophonist

-ˌfō-nəst 

noun

Etymology

from Greek xylo- "wood, of wood" (from xylon "wood") and English -phone "sound, a sound-producing device"