guitarist

IPA/ɡɪˈtɑːrɪst/
KK[ɡˌɪtˈɑrɪst]IPA/ɡɪˈtɑːrɪst/

guitarist — noun

  • guitaristsingular
  • guitaristsplural

1. someone who makes music using the guitar as their instrument, whether as a hobby

1.nounB1
Definition

someone who makes music using the guitar as their instrument, whether as a hobby, in a band, or as a paid performer

Example

Leila picked up her first guitar at twelve and became a skilled guitarist within two years.

guitarist as a role developed over time

The jazz guitarist played a slow melody that filled the quiet coffee shop.

compound noun: jazz guitarist

Common collocations
  • lead guitarist
  • rhythm guitarist
  • jazz guitarist
  • acoustic guitarist
  • session guitarist
  • bass guitarist
  • skilled guitarist
  • talented guitarist
Synonyms
  • guitar player

    more informal and general; guitarist is the standard term for someone who plays the instrument with some level of skill or identity

Usage Note

This word is formed by adding the suffix -ist to 'guitar'. Unlike some other musician words (pianist, violinist), the stress falls on the second syllable: gui-TAR-ist, not GUI-ta-rist.

Common Mistakes

She is a famous guitar.
She is a famous guitarist.
'guitar' is the instrument; 'guitarist' is the person who plays it.

Word family

  • guitar
    nounA1
  • bass guitarist
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Guitarist is the most specific and natural term for someone who plays the guitar, regardless of skill level. 'Guitar player' is more informal and often used in everyday speech ('He's a great guitar player'). 'Musician' is much broader and includes singers, drummers, and anyone else in the music field — using it instead of 'guitarist' loses precision. 'Instrumentalist' is formal and refers to any player of a musical instrument, so it is too general when you mean guitar specifically. For example, 'The band is looking for a guitarist' is clearer than 'looking for a musician' or 'looking for an instrumentalist.'

guitar playermusician ↗instrumentalist ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • guitarist in a band
  • work as a guitarist

Prepositions

Etymology

GreekArabicSpanishEnglish

Guitarist comes from 'guitar' (which traces back through Spanish 'guitarra' and Arabic 'qitara' to the ancient Greek 'kithara', a type of stringed instrument) plus the suffix '-ist', meaning a person who plays or is skilled with something.