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Definition of accordion
accordion
/əˈkɔːr.di.ən/
ac · cor · di · on
Plural:accordions
•Past Simple:accordioned
•Past Participle:accordioned
•Present Participle:accordioning
accordion Lexical Profile
CEFR
B2
Grade
5
Tier
2
Usage
Top 10k
accordion Game Scores & Validity
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WWF
Wordle Guess
• noun
1
A portable box-shaped musical instrument of the hand-held bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, played by expanding and compressing the bellows while pressing keys or buttons.
Example
"The street musician entertained the crowd with lively folk tunes played on his accordion."
Synonyms
View all synonyms for accordion• verb
1
To fold, compress, or collapse in pleats or zigzags resembling the bellows of a musical accordion.
Example
"The sliding partition accordioned neatly to the side of the room, opening up the large event space."
Synonyms
View all synonyms for accordion Antonyms
View all antonyms for accordion• Rhymes for accordion
Word Origin & Etymology
Early 19th century: from German 'Akkordion', derived from 'Akkord' (musical chord), ultimately from French 'accord', with the suffix '-ion' likely influenced by the names of other musical instruments.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.
180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer
Cite this Entry
Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Accordion. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Oct 12, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/accordion