accordion

American  

[uh-kawr-dee-uhn] / əˈkɔr di ən /

noun

Music.

• accordions
  plural

1. 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.

2. a similar instrument having single-note buttons instead of a keyboard.

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adjective

1. having a fold or folds like the bellows of an accordion.

   accordion roof; accordion panel.

verb (used without object)

1. (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.

2. to fold, crush together, or collapse in the manner of an accordion.

verb (used with object)

1. to demolish by crushing together lengthwise.

   The impact accordioned the car beneath the truck.

accordion British  

/ əˈkɔːdɪən /

noun

1. 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

2. short for piano accordion

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• accordionist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• accordions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of accordion

1831; < German, now spelling Akkordion, Akkordeon name under which the instrument was patented in Vienna in 1829; probably < French accord ( er ) or Italian accord ( are ) to harmonize ( see accord) + French -ion -ion, as in German Orchestrion orchestrion

Explanation

An accordion is a hand-held musical instrument that has a keyboard or buttons and a bellows that blows air in and out. A street musician might play folk tunes on her accordion and collect donations in a hat. One of the distinct features of an accordion is its bellows, which looks like a series of pleats at the center of the instrument, and which allows the player to push and pull the accordion as she plays, blowing air across reeds inside it. The accordion was invented in the early 1800s, and it's played in many countries around the world. The word comes from the German Akkordion, from Akkord, "musical chord" or "be in tune."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

accordion accordions

She said he was loved by friends, talented in music and sport, having played the fiddle, accordion and enjoyed judo, chess and sea scouts.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

They’ve championed the resurgence of norteño-sax, a subgenre that fuses the accordion sounds of norteño music with an invigorating alto saxophone, made popular by legendary groups like Conjunto Primavera.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

There’s “White Hot Coal,” a pensive, acoustic folk rocker with violins as the ghost of an accordion.

From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026

Spring is the ideal time for lunch or sunset dinner: Staff open the glass accordion windows when the temperature hovers between 50 and 80 degrees.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026

And somehow, even though he was playing the accordion, and no matter how quietly I crept over, the accordion-man would always hear the swoosh of the dollar bill as it fell into the accordion case.

From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio

“Of course we used accordions to help us,” said Jerónimo Contreras, 42, a businessman who was accompanying his elderly parents at a polling site.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2025

It relies not on computers but on hand-played, largely acoustic instruments: guitars, accordions, brasses, reeds.

From New York Times ● Jun. 22, 2023

Set to the tune of accordions and trumpets, the ballad "In Preparation" by California native Gerardo Ortiz could be mistaken for a jaunty polka. 

From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2023

Most accordionists who play Mexican music use button instruments called diatonic accordions, which produce different notes when the bellows are pushed and pulled.

From Seattle Times ● May 20, 2022

There were maps an arms’-breadth wide that folded like accordions until they could be slipped into a pocket, and dictionaries that translated words from one language into a dozen others.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood