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

Around a corner, the border came into full view — a metal turnstile with layers of concertina wire above it.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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