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)

, con·cer·ti·naed [kon-ser-, tee, -n, uh, d], con·cer·ti·na·ing [kon-ser-, tee, -n, uh, -ing].

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)

, con·cer·ti·naed [kon-ser-, tee, -n, uh, d], con·cer·ti·na·ing [kon-ser-, tee, -n, uh, -ing].

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

Derived Forms

• ˌconcerˈtinist, noun

Other Words From

• concer·tinist 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

What Texas Gov. Abbott was doing was communicating: This immigration enforcement is actually our way of engaging in war, because building that concertina wire, that’s our protection against this invasion.

From Slate

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.

From Los Angeles Times

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

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

Abbott has deployed the Texas National Guard to the border, placed concertina wire along parts of the Rio Grande in defiance of U.S.

From Seattle Times