1. a keyboard musical instrument with strings that are plucked by quills or plectra when keys are pressed

Examples

• The baroque composer wrote several pieces for harpsichord.
• She practiced Bach’s Goldberg Variations on her harpsichord.
• The harpsichord’s bright, metallic sound filled the concert hall.
• Unlike a piano, a harpsichord plucks its strings rather than striking them.
• The music teacher demonstrated the difference between a harpsichord and a clavichord.
• Many of Handel’s keyboard works were originally composed for harpsichord.