mandolin

/ˌˈmændəˌˈlɪn/

/mændəˈlɪn/

Other forms: mandolins

A mandolin is a bit like a small guitar — it's a musical instrument with a wooden body, strings, and a long neck.

A musician plays a mandolin by plucking or strumming the strings. Its sound is higher than a guitar, and it's often played alongside lower-pitched instruments, such as banjos and guitars. The mandolin is popular around the world and in many different kinds of music; in the United States, it's played most often in country music. The word itself comes from the Italian mandolino, which is an altered form of the Latin pandura, or "three-stringed lute."

Definitions of mandolin

1. noun

   a stringed instrument related to the lute, usually played with a plectrum
   types:

   mandola

   an early type of mandolin

   type of:

   chordophone

   a stringed instrument of the group including harps, lutes, lyres, and zithers