CASTANETS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does castanets mean? 

• CASTANETS (noun)
  The noun CASTANETS has 1 sense:

1. (used in the plural) a percussion instrument consisting of a pair of hollow pieces of wood or bone (usually held between the thumb and fingers) that are made to click together (as by Spanish dancers) in rhythm with the dance

  Familiarity information: CASTANETS used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CASTANETS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(used in the plural) a percussion instrument consisting of a pair of hollow pieces of wood or bone (usually held between the thumb and fingers) that are made to click together (as by Spanish dancers) in rhythm with the dance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

bones; castanets; clappers; finger cymbals

Hypernyms ("castanets" is a kind of...):

percussion instrument; percussive instrument (a musical instrument in which the sound is produced by one object striking another)

Domain usage:

plural; plural form (the form of a word that is used to denote more than one)

 Context examples 

It was a strange clicking noise in the distance not unlike castanets.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And Jo shook the blue army sock till the needles rattled like castanets, and her ball bounded across the room.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Faster and faster yet they raced, the hoofs rattling like castanets, the yellow manes flying, the wheels buzzing, and every joint and rivet creaking and groaning, while the curricle swung and swayed until I found myself clutching to the side-rail.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)