concertina
Americannoun
-
a musical instrument resembling an accordion but having buttonlike keys, hexagonal bellows and ends, and a more limited range.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
adjective
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
- concertinist noun
Etymology
Origin of concertina
Apparently coined by the original instrument's inventor, English instrument-maker Charles Wheatstone (1802–75), who patented it in 1829; concertino, seraphina a similar instrument
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Additionally, because concertina coils are rigid and stay under tension, they don’t ‘sag’ or create the loose, invisible snares that single-strand wires often do over time, which helps reduce the risk of accidental wildlife entanglement.”
From Los Angeles Times
But she had died, nine years ago, and his father had contracted, as if a weight had settled on him and concertinaed him downward and inward.
From Literature
Around a corner, the border came into full view — a metal turnstile with layers of concertina wire above it.
From Los Angeles Times
Most agreed with him that it was a racing incident, the sort of thing that can happen at this first corner, with its wide, uphill entry which inevitably leads to a concertina effect mid-turn.
From BBC
The concertina wire used to barricade the road has been moved to one side and local people and flocks of sheep can be seen making their way down.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
