accordion
Also called piano accordion. a portable wind instrument having a large bellows for forcing air through small metal reeds, a keyboard for the right hand, and buttons for sounding single bass notes or chords for the left hand.
a similar instrument having single-note buttons instead of a keyboard.
having a fold or folds like the bellows of an accordion: accordion roof; accordion panel.
(of a door, roof, or other covering) to open by folding back or pressing together in the manner of an accordion: The roof of the car accordions to let in sunlight and fresh air.
to fold, crush together, or collapse in the manner of an accordion.
to demolish by crushing together lengthwise: The impact accordioned the car beneath the truck.
Origin of accordion
1Words Nearby accordion
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use accordion in a sentence
Some operate like bellows, creating an accordion-like sound as they aspirate.
How to Save Silent Movies: Inside New Jersey’s Cinema Paradiso | Rich Goldstein | October 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe had skinny legs and bloated ribs fanning from his torso like an accordion strapped to his chest.
‘Tracing the Blue Light’: Read Chapter 1 of Eileen Cronin’s ‘Mermaid’ | Eileen Cronin | April 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe questions presented by the lower folds in the accordion are economic and social.
We live in an accordion economy, as I'm not the first to say.
A straight-faced clown in severe white makeup begins picking out a tune on an accordion as more people trickle in to watch.
A sailor, who had brought an accordion with him, was playing "While the North Sea roars," and other popular airs.
Skipper Worse | Alexander Lange KiellandThe proprietor, being angry, rescued the accordion roughly; whereupon Anne pouted and cast appealing glances on her friends.
Blazed Trail Stories | Stewart Edward WhiteHowever, Muriel in her salmon-coloured, accordion-pleated frock bowled Michael off his superior pedestal.
Sinister Street, vol. 1 | Compton MackenzieIt seemed to have been pleated and shoved together like an accordion.
Hunters Out of Space | Joseph Everidge KelleamPoor Mr. Nicholson had bought an accordion, which he amused himself in the long evenings with playing.
Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents and Strange Events | S. Baring-Gould
British Dictionary definitions for accordion
/ (əˈkɔːdɪən) /
a portable box-shaped instrument of the reed organ family, consisting of metallic reeds that are made to vibrate by air from a set of bellows controlled by the player's hands. Notes are produced by means of studlike keys
short for piano accordion
Origin of accordion
1Derived forms of accordion
- accordionist, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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