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definitions

steam organ

See more synonyms for steam organ on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. calliope(def 1).

Origin of steam organ

First recorded in 1785–95
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for steam organ

organ, calliope

Examples from the Web for steam organ

Historical Examples of steam organ

  • They could hear above the thud-thud of the gorged floodgates, shrieks in two keys as monotonous as a steam-organ.

  • And the artist who sat inside the steam-organ wagon became so sleepy that his hand slipped and struck one of the organ pedals.

    Through Welsh Doorways

    Jeannette Augustus Marks

  • It was a very beautiful meal, and the far-off music of the steam-organ added the last touch of festivity to the scene.

British Dictionary definitions for steam organ

steam organ

noun
  1. a type of organ powered by steam, once common at fairgrounds, in which the pipes are sounded either by a keyboard or in a sequence determined by a moving punched cardUS name: calliope
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