banjo

noun

ban·​jo ˈban-(ˌ)jō How to pronounce banjo (audio)
plural banjos also banjoes
: a musical instrument with a drumlike body, a fretted neck, and usually four or five strings which may be plucked or strummed
banjoist noun

Illustration of banjo

Illustration of banjo

Examples of banjo in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Or an encounter with a person at a party who desperately wants to talk about the banjo. Janay Kingsberry, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024 The group’s decision to record the song started with a desire to incorporate banjo — an instrument with African roots — into their sound. Abbie Kozolchyk, Los Angeles Times, 29 Feb. 2024 But Todd Lombardo also dropped in an almost-stealthy banjo, with Mike Johnson overdubbing an atmospheric steel guitar that added a touch of western sound, supplying a sense of cowboy isolation as the woman heads off to the horizon. Tom Roland, Billboard, 28 Feb. 2024 The banjo and viola on the track were played by Rhiannon Giddens, a North Carolina native who grew up in Greensboro. Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 22 Feb. 2024 The multi-instrumentalist from Phoenix has played steel guitar, banjo and more in Case’s touring band for more than 20 years, but had to pull out of a summer tour in 2021 while undergoing treatment for the prostate cancer he’d been diagnosed with earlier that year. Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 8 Feb. 2024 When Roni was about 9 years old, her father built her her first banjo, an instrument about as large as a banjo ukulele, about half the size of a traditional one. Bill Friskics-Warren, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2024 Prominent country instruments, such as the fiddle and the banjo, were played mostly by enslaved African people and eventually incorporated into music driven by white Southern artists, according to Martinez, who has written extensively on country and race. Emi Tuyetnhi Tran, NBC News, 21 Feb. 2024 In an earlier scene, Cox performs a call-and-response banjo duet with a young native (Billy Redden) in an iconic musical sequence. Rhett Bartlett, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'banjo.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

probably of African origin; akin to Kimbundu mbanza, a similar instrument

First Known Use

1739, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of banjo was in 1739

Dictionary Entries Near banjo

Cite this Entry

“Banjo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/banjo. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

banjo

noun
ban·​jo ˈban-jō How to pronounce banjo (audio)
plural banjos also banjoes
: a musical instrument with a round body like a drum, a long fretted neck, and four or five strings
banjoist noun

More from Merriam-Webster on banjo

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