Banjo Meaning
/ˈbæn.dʒəʊ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA stringed musical instrument (chordophone), usually with a round body, a membrane-like soundboard and a fretted neck, played by plucking or strumming the strings.
nounAny of various similar musical instruments, such as the Tuvan doshpuluur, with a membrane-like soundboard.
Sentence Examples
A gentleman is someone who knows how to play the banjo and doesn't.
To become a professional banjo player, you need to spend thousands of hours practicing.
I'd like to learn how to play the banjo.
CEFR Practice Quiz
During the bluegrass concert, the musician played a lively tune on his ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He played a fast tune on his ____ during the country music show.
Word Origin & History
From the pronunciation of African slaves, of unknown ultimate origin. Possibly a corruption of bandore (from Spanish bandurria), alternatively from a West African language such as Mandinka banjul, or Kimbundu mbanza.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"They all came back here — we cleared the room and put up tables for the reception — and then we went to another house on the banjo for a "knees-up"."
— 1963, Peter Willmott, The Evolution of a Community, page 75:
"Billy Tower lived in the far left house in the banjo that was Dagenham's version of cul de sacs. The trouble was you could be seen from the house and, in the time it took to walk along the Banjo, drugs could be flushed away."
— 2013, M. C. Dutton, The Godfathers of London:
"The banjo format is not an unalloyed success these days: kids playing noisily on the quite narrow common green […]"
— 2013, Martin Crookston, Garden Suburbs of Tomorrow?:
"Admitting the assault, the husband said that he had given her a 'banjoing' but that she had asked for it."
— 1989, Susan S. M. Edwards, Policing 'domestic' Violence: Women, the Law and the State, page 95:
""Me and other folk were just trying to get the boot in and some other guy banjoed [decked] him”."
— 2007 July 31, “Return of Smeato, the extraordinary hero”, in Times Online:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
During the bluegrass concert, the musician played a lively tune on his ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He played a fast tune on his ____ during the country music show.