concertina

[kon-ser-tee-nuh]

noun

1. a musical instrument resembling an accordion but having buttonlike keys, hexagonal bellows and ends, and a more limited range.

2. concertina wire.

verb (used without object)

concertinaed, concertinaing 

1. to fold, crush together, or collapse in the manner of a concertina.

   The car concertinaed when it hit the truck.

verb (used with object)

concertinaed, concertinaing 

1. to cause to fold or collapse in the manner of a concertina.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling a concertina.

   concertina pleats.

concertina

/ ˌkɒnsəˈtiːnə /

noun

1. a small hexagonal musical instrument of the reed organ family in which metallic reeds are vibrated by air from a set of bellows operated by the player's hands. Notes are produced by pressing buttons

verb

1. (intr) to collapse or fold up like a concertina

Other Word Forms

• concertinist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of concertina¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of concertina¹

C19: _concert + -ina

Example Sentences

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.

Read more on BBC

Meanwhile, the Border Patrol, with the assistance of 750 U.S. military troops, has reinforced six miles of the border wall with concertina wire.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

May’s next film, “The Heartbreak Kid,” adapted from a Neil Simon hit and co-starring her daughter Jeannie Berlin, is a beautifully calibrated and funny social critique wrapped in concertina wire.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

After weeks of desperation, migrants pass a toddler under a tangle of concertina wire strung across the edge of U.S. soil.

Read more on Seattle Times

Abbott has deployed the Texas National Guard to the border, placed concertina wire along parts of the Rio Grande in defiance of U.S.

Read more on Seattle Times