noun ·3 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A thumb piano, a musical instrument having a small sound box fitted with a row of tuned tabs that are plucked with the thumbs, originating among the Shona of southern Africa; any type of plucked lamellophone of the same type as the Shona instrument.

Synonyms

All synonyms

finger pianosanzasanzathumb pianothumb piano

Etymology

From Shona mbira (“thumb piano”).

Related phrases

array mbiramusical instrumentthumb piano

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.