cajón

Canada, US/kəˈhoʊn/

noun

A box-shaped percussion instrument played by slapping the front or rear faces (generally thin plywood) with the hands, fingers, or sometimes various implements.

OriginSpanish cajón →
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Meanings

nouncajón (plural cajóns or cajones)

plural cajóns · plural cajones

  1. entertainmentA box-shaped percussion instrument played by slapping the front or rear faces (generally thin plywood) with the hands, fingers, or sometimes various implements.

Origin

  1. Spanishcajón
  2. Englishcajón

From Spanish cajón, augmentative of caja (“box”). Doublet of cajon, caisson, and cassone.

More words from Spanish

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan caixó
  • caixóbox-shaped percussion instrument
German Cajón, Kachon
  • Cajónbox-shaped percussion instrument
  • Kachonbox-shaped percussion instrument
Polish cajón
  • cajónbox-shaped percussion instrument
Portuguese cajón
  • cajónbox-shaped percussion instrument
Spanish cajón
  • cajónbox-shaped percussion instrument
Cite this entry
APA

cajón. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/caj%C3%B3n

MLA

“cajón.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/caj%C3%B3n. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cajón,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/caj%C3%B3n.

Source: cajón on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.