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

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of barrel organ was in 1750

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 28 Mar. 2024.

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

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