A lute (/ ljuːt / or / luːt /) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" commonly refers to an instrument from the family of European lutes.

noun a stringed musical instrument having a long, fretted neck and a hollow, typically pear-shaped body with a vaulted back. verb (used without object),lut·ed, lut·ing. to play a lute. verb (used with object),lut·ed, lut·ing. to perform (music) on a lute: a musician skilled at luting Elizabethan ballads.

Lute, in music, any plucked or bowed chordophone whose strings are parallel to its belly, or soundboard, and run along a distinct neck or pole. In this sense, instruments such as the Indian sitar are classified as lutes.