# banjo

/ˈbænˌdʒoʊ/ (US) · /bˈændʒəʊ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/banjo
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. musical instrument

noun · CEFR B2

a musical instrument with a round body, a long neck, and four or five strings that you pluck.

For teachers: a stringed musical instrument featuring a circular body with a parchment or plastic membrane stretched over it, typically played by plucking or strumming.

- He played a fast tune on his banjo during the folk music festival.
- The bluegrass ensemble featured a virtuoso banjo player whose rapid finger-picking style defined the group's energetic sound.

### 2. round-nosed shovel

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical · Dialect

a type of shovel with a round end, often used by miners.

For teachers: a round-nosed shovel, so named for its visual resemblance to the musical instrument.

- The worker used a banjo to move the loose gravel into the truck.
- In the local mining community, the term banjo was commonly used to refer to the heavy, round-ended shovels used in the pits.

### 3. to hit or beat

verb · CEFR C1 · British English · Slang

to hit someone very hard or to defeat them completely.

For teachers: to physically assault, strike, or decisively defeat an opponent.

- He got banjoed in a fight outside the pub last night.
- The local team got absolutely banjoed in the final, losing by six goals to a much stronger side.

### 4. to attack or shell

verb · CEFR C2 · British English · Slang · Technical

to attack a place with heavy weapons or bombs.

For teachers: to subject a target to heavy shelling or a concentrated military attack.

- The artillery units started to banjo the enemy positions at dawn.
- The sergeant ordered the unit to banjo the bunker until the resistance was neutralized.

## Examples

- He plays the banjo in a local folk band.
- The fast, rhythmic plucking of the banjo gave the bluegrass performance its characteristic high-energy sound.
- While the instrument is central to American old-time music, the banjo actually has its roots in West African lutes brought to the Americas by enslaved people in the seventeenth century.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.