Mandolin definition

măndə-lĭn, măndl-ĭn
mandolins
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A small lutelike instrument with a typically pear-shaped body and a straight fretted neck, having usually four sets of paired strings tuned in unison or octaves.
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A musical instrument of the lute family, with four to six pairs of strings stretched over a fretted neck and a deep, rounded sound box: it is played with a plectrum, which is moved rapidly back and forth to give a tremolo effect.
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(music) A stringed instrument and a member of the lute family, having eight strings in four courses, frequently tuned as a violin. They have either a bowl back or a flat back.
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A kitchen tool used for slicing vegetables (usually spelled mandoline).
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(military) An RAF World War II code name for patrols to attack enemy railway transport.
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Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
mandolin
Plural:
mandolins

Origin of mandolin

  • French mandoline from Italian mandolino diminutive of mandola lute from French mandore from Late Latin pandūra three-string lute from Greek pandoura

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From French mandoline, from Italian mandolino, diminutive of mandola, a large stringed instrument.

    From Wiktionary

Mandolin Sentence Examples

  • Richard plays banjo, bass, mandolin, guitar or anything he can get a sound out of.

  • It was a child's guitar, like a Chinese mandolin, really.

  • They fuse layers of sampled loops and rock guitars with an array of acoustic instruments including harmonica, mandolin and bowed double bass.

  • He also played some good mandolin including a Monroe style mandolin blues.

  • Stephen Donnelly replaces Brian Thompson on lead guitar and also adds another mandolin to the bands line-up.

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Related articles

Words near mandolin in the Dictionary