concertina

American  

[kon-ser-tee-nuh] / ˌkɒn sərˈti nə /

noun

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

2. concertina wire.

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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 British  

/ 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

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verb

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

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; cf. concertino, seraphina a similar instrument

Example Sentences

Some desperate enough might even try to jump over all the newly installed concertina wire.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2025

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

From Seattle Times • May 6, 2024

Piastri's car had been damaged in a concertina effect at the hairpin at the first restart, when Lance Stroll's Aston Martin cannoned into Daniel Ricciardo's RB, which then rammed Piastri.

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2024

The outsiders drove their pickup trucks slowly by the gate of the park, peering out their windows, looking past the concertina wire and National Guardsmen and state troopers for drama.

From Slate • Jan. 31, 2024

“He never wanted to go anywhere either. Always sitting under that elm on the hill, playing that concertina and dreaming the days away. And what happened?”

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby