Illustration of xylophone
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
Examples of xylophone in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
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
To that end, there’s a rocking pirate ship, two nonverbal communication boards and a free notes musical area where youngsters can bang the heck out of faux drums and xylophones.
—Mike Klingaman, Baltimore Sun, 13 Apr. 2023
Her first notes stretched out atop a shimmer of percussion and a skein of strings, their attack marked by icy chimes and spindly xylophones.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 9 May 2023
Crew members quietly stepped on and off stage to hand Young a guitar or to switch out a piano bench with a stool, or occasionally add brief accompaniment on piano or tap a small xylophone.
—Steve Appleford, SPIN, 1 July 2023
Six school employees converge in the elementary school music room, where tambourines and xylophones hang from the wall.
—Sophia Solano, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2023
Trumpets and flutes were predictably popular, but so were the gongs and xylophones of an Indonesian gamelan orchestra.
—Burkhard Bilger, The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2023
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
To that end, there’s a rocking pirate ship, two nonverbal communication boards and a free notes musical area where youngsters can bang the heck out of faux drums and xylophones.
—Mike Klingaman, Baltimore Sun, 13 Apr. 2023
Her first notes stretched out atop a shimmer of percussion and a skein of strings, their attack marked by icy chimes and spindly xylophones.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 9 May 2023
Crew members quietly stepped on and off stage to hand Young a guitar or to switch out a piano bench with a stool, or occasionally add brief accompaniment on piano or tap a small xylophone.
—Steve Appleford, SPIN, 1 July 2023
Six school employees converge in the elementary school music room, where tambourines and xylophones hang from the wall.
—Sophia Solano, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2023
Trumpets and flutes were predictably popular, but so were the gongs and xylophones of an Indonesian gamelan orchestra.
—Burkhard Bilger, The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'xylophone.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Xylophone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/xylophone. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
Etymology
from Greek xylo- "wood, of wood" (from xylon "wood") and English -phone "sound, a sound-producing device"
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