harp

/hɑːrp/

noun

  1. a large, upright musical instrument with a series of strings stretched across a frame, played by plucking the strings with the fingers

    B1

    countable

    • "She plays the harp in the school orchestra."A2
    • "The harp's strings vibrate gently when plucked."B1
    • "An accomplished harpist can produce an astonishing range of tonal color from a simple harp."C1

verb

  1. to keep talking or complaining about something in a way that is annoying or boring to others

    C1

    intransitive, usually followed by 'on' or 'on about'informal

    • "He kept harping on about the unfairness of the rules."B2
    • "Stop harping on your mistakes — learn from them and move on."B2
    • "The columnist harped relentlessly on the government's economic failings, to the irritation of her regular readers."C1

Common mistakes

  • He always harpes on about his health.→He always harps on about his health.

    Harp is invariable in the present tense — use 'harps' only for the noun referring to multiple instruments.

Collocations

play the harpharp on aboutharp stringspedal harpCeltic harp

Word family

harpistharpist