barrel organ
noun
: an instrument for producing music by the action of a revolving cylinder studded with pegs on a series of valves that admit air from a bellows to a set of pipes
Examples of barrel organ in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Every girl needs an old-timey barrel organ.
—
Christina Catherine Martinez, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2022
Robots in movies these days are too busy finding true love and overcoming adversity to use the barrel organ of machine guns in their chests.
—Bruno Maddox, Discover Magazine, 8 Nov. 2010
The old barrel organ started the song about Russian doping again.
—BostonGlobe.com, 2 Aug. 2021
Christina Catherine Martinez, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2022
Robots in movies these days are too busy finding true love and overcoming adversity to use the barrel organ of machine guns in their chests.
—Bruno Maddox, Discover Magazine, 8 Nov. 2010
The old barrel organ started the song about Russian doping again.
—BostonGlobe.com, 2 Aug. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'barrel organ.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1750, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near barrel organ
Cite this Entry
“Barrel organ.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barrel%20organ. Accessed 30 Sep. 2023.
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Kids Definition
barrel organ
noun
: an instrument producing music by a series of pegs arranged around a revolving cylinder so that they open valves to admit air from a bellows to a set of pipes
More from Merriam-Webster on barrel organ
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about barrel organ
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