: 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
Recent Examples on the WebLowing 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
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.
Share