Illustration of mandolin
- mandolin 1
mandolin
noun
man·do·lin
ˌman-də-ˈlin 
ˈman-də-lən
variants
or less commonly mandoline
ˌman-də-ˈlēn
ˈman-də-lən
1
: a musical instrument of the lute family that has a usually pear-shaped body and fretted neck and four to six pairs of strings
2
usually mandoline
[French, from Italian mandolino mandolin]
: a kitchen utensil with a blade for slicing and shredding
Examples of mandolin in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Recorded over the span of a week in Oxford, Mississippi, with Clay Jones—a producer whose credits include 21st century work with Modest Mouse and mandolin on a Counting Crows album—Birds of Paradise has a driving, electric sound that’s as essential to the experience as the songwriting itself.
—
Sam Sodomsky, Pitchfork, 22 May 2026
Rostam ventures through the slipstream playing piano, mandolin, celeste, Minimoog, and Mellotron, as well as about half a dozen other instruments — capping it off with a guest solo on the saz, a Turkish string instrument.
—Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 14 May 2026
After peeling the sweet potato, run it through a mandolin or spiralizer and dry the strings thoroughly.
—Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Apr. 2026
There are guys in Jubilee who play mandolin, piano, banjo, and ukulele, and one of the other men’s houses, Bonaventure, has a folk band in the mold of the Hillbilly Thomists, a Catholic cult favorite.
—Emma Green, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2026
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Sam Sodomsky, Pitchfork, 22 May 2026
Rostam ventures through the slipstream playing piano, mandolin, celeste, Minimoog, and Mellotron, as well as about half a dozen other instruments — capping it off with a guest solo on the saz, a Turkish string instrument.
—Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 14 May 2026
After peeling the sweet potato, run it through a mandolin or spiralizer and dry the strings thoroughly.
—Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Apr. 2026
There are guys in Jubilee who play mandolin, piano, banjo, and ukulele, and one of the other men’s houses, Bonaventure, has a folk band in the mold of the Hillbilly Thomists, a Catholic cult favorite.
—Emma Green, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for mandolin
Cite this Entry
“Mandolin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mandolin. Accessed 31 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mandolin
noun
man·do·lin
ˌman-də-ˈlin
ˈman-dᵊl-ən
variants
also mandoline
ˌman-də-ˈlēn
ˈman-dᵊl-ən
: a stringed instrument with a pear-shaped body and four to six pairs of strings played by plucking
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