hand organ


noun
  1. a portable barrel organ played by means of a crank turned by hand.

Origin of hand organ

1
An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800

Words Nearby hand organ

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use hand organ in a sentence

  • I hope her longing for home was not of the same nature as that which a hand-organ inspires, Mrs. Estill.

  • The next morning the hand-organ man fastened a chain to the collar of the monkey, and a long rope to the chain.

    Mappo, the Merry Monkey | Richard Barnum
  • The hand-organ man never let him loose; always was there that chain and string fast to the collar on Mappo's neck.

    Mappo, the Merry Monkey | Richard Barnum
  • For many weeks Mappo was kept by the hand-organ man, and made to gather pennies.

    Mappo, the Merry Monkey | Richard Barnum
  • He looked out in the street, and there he saw a hand-organ man grinding away at the crank which made the nice music.

    Mappo, the Merry Monkey | Richard Barnum

British Dictionary definitions for hand organ

hand organ

noun
  1. another name for barrel organ

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