vibraphone

V4I1B3R1A1P3H4O1N1E1
/ˈvɑɪ.bɹəˌfəʊn/

noun

A percussion instrument with a double row of tuned metal bars, each above a tubular resonator containing a motor-driven rotating vane, giving a vibrato effect.

Similar
vibraharpvibes
OriginAncient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ) ← Proto-Hellenic *pʰōnā́ ← Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- →
UncommonScrabble 20
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Meanings

nounvibraphone (plural vibraphones)

plural vibraphones

  1. A percussion instrument with a double row of tuned metal bars, each above a tubular resonator containing a motor-driven rotating vane, giving a vibrato effect.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna percussion instrument similar to a xylophone but having metal bars and rotating disks in the resonators that produce a vibrato sound

Similar
vibraharpvibes
Broader
percussion instrumentpercussive instrument
Also see
vibraharp

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Englishvibra(to)
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-
  3. Proto-Hellenic*pʰōnā́
  4. Ancient Greekφωνή (phōnḗ)
  5. Englishvibraphone

From vibra(to) + -phone.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian вибрафон
  • вибрафон (vibrafon)percussion instrument
Catalan vibràfon
  • vibràfonpercussion instrument
Chinese Mandarin 顫音琴 /颤音琴, 震音鐵琴 /震音铁琴
  • 顫音琴 /颤音琴 (zhànyīnqín)percussion instrument
  • 震音鐵琴 /震音铁琴 (zhènyīn tiěqín)percussion instrument
Czech vibrafon
  • vibrafonpercussion instrument
Danish vibrafon
  • vibrafonpercussion instrument
Dutch vibrafoon
  • vibrafoonpercussion instrument
Esperanto vibrafono
  • vibrafonopercussion instrument
Estonian vibrafon
  • vibrafonpercussion instrument
Finnish vibrafoni
  • vibrafonipercussion instrument
French vibraphone
  • vibraphonepercussion instrument
German Vibraphon
  • Vibraphonpercussion instrument
Hungarian vibrafon
  • vibrafonpercussion instrument
Icelandic víbrafónn
  • víbrafónnpercussion instrument
Indonesian vibrafon
  • vibrafonpercussion instrument
Italian vibrafono
  • vibrafonopercussion instrument
Japanese ビブラフォン
  • ビブラフォン (biburafon)percussion instrument
Norwegian vibrafon
  • vibrafonpercussion instrument
Polish wibrafon
  • wibrafonpercussion instrument
Portuguese vibrafone
  • vibrafonepercussion instrument
Romanian vibrafon
  • vibrafonpercussion instrument
Russian вибрафо́н
  • вибрафо́н (vibrafón)percussion instrument
Spanish vibráfono
  • vibráfonopercussion instrument
Swedish vibrafon
  • vibrafonpercussion instrument
Turkish vibrafon
  • vibrafonpercussion instrument
Cite this entry
APA

vibraphone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vibraphone

MLA

“vibraphone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vibraphone. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vibraphone,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vibraphone.

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