accordion

accordion — noun

1. A portable musical instrument shaped like a box, with piano-style keys on one si

1.nounB2
Definition

A portable musical instrument shaped like a box, with piano-style keys on one side and round buttons on the other. The player squeezes and pulls the folded middle section to push air across small metal reeds inside, which makes the sound.

Example

Grandpa Henrik pulled out his old accordion and played a cheerful Polish folk song at the wedding.

play + the accordion

On a busy street in Paris, a young musician was playing the accordion for tips from tourists.

play the accordion (busking context)

Common collocations
  • play the accordion
  • squeeze an accordion
  • accordion player
  • accordion music
Synonyms
  • concertina

    a smaller, hexagonal cousin of the accordion with buttons only and no piano keys

  • squeezebox

    informal cover term for accordion-family instruments

  • melodeon

    a button accordion common in Irish and English folk music

Usage Note

Like other instruments, usually takes the definite article when talking about playing it ('play the accordion'), but no article when referring to the physical object you own ('I bought an accordion').

Common Mistakes

She plays accordion in a band.
She plays the accordion in a band.
instruments take 'the' when you talk about playing them.
He bought a new accordian.
He bought a new accordion.
common spelling slip; only one 'a' in the ending.

Word family

  • accordionist
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe handheld bellows-and-reed instruments, but they differ in shape, key system, and feel. An 'accordion' is the standard full-size instrument, usually rectangular, with piano-style keys on the right and bass buttons on the left, popular from polka bands to French street music. A 'concertina' is smaller and hexagonal, with buttons on both sides, and is closely tied to English and Irish folk traditions. A 'melodeon' is a button accordion that produces different notes when you push or pull the bellows, common in Cajun and Celtic music. 'Squeezebox' is the informal umbrella term — friendly, slightly playful — for any of them. Compare: 'She plays the accordion in a Parisian café' (full-size, piano keys), versus 'He pulled out his squeezebox at the pub' (informal, instrument unspecified).

accordion ↗concertinamelodeonsqueezebox

Common collocations

Nouns

  • accordion player
  • accordion music
  • accordion lessons
  • accordion solo

Phrases

  • play the accordion
  • squeeze an accordion
  • learn the accordion

Prepositions

  • on the accordion
  • with an accordion

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchGermanEnglish

Borrowed into English in the 1830s from German 'Akkordion', a name coined by the Viennese instrument maker Cyrill Demian, who patented the instrument in 1829. He built the word from 'Akkord' meaning 'chord' (because early models played a whole chord with a single button) plus the suffix '-ion' that often appears on instrument names. 'Akkord' itself goes back through French 'accord' to Latin roots meaning 'agree' or 'be in harmony', so at heart the name simply means 'the chord-maker'.