Meaning & use
concertina wire
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Meaning
noununcountable
A type of wire with sharp points, twisted into large coils, used as a barrier to keep people out or in.
Grammar: Typically uncountable: 'a coil of concertina wire'. Rarely used as countable when referring to a specific type or piece: 'a concertina wire'.
Patterns
- concertina wire
- a coil of concertina wire
- concertina wire fence
The soldiers laid concertina wire along the perimeter of the base.
Protesters found their path blocked by concertina wire.
The prison was surrounded by high walls and concertina wire.
Common combinations
- coil of concertina wire
- They unrolled a coil of concertina wire to secure the entrance.
- concertina wire fence
- A concertina wire fence was erected around the construction site.
- lay concertina wire
- The troops were ordered to lay concertina wire along the border.
- razor wire
- Razor wire is similar to concertina wire but has sharper blades.
Synonyms and how they differ
- razor wire
- A similar security wire with sharp blades rather than points; razor wire is often considered more dangerous, while concertina wire is the older, more general term.
- barbed wire
- A simpler wire with sharp points twisted at intervals, not coiled; concertina wire is a specific coiled form of barbed wire.
Word family
- concertina noun
- A musical instrument with a folding bellows, which the coiled wire resembles.
Commonly confused: concertina wire or barbed wire?
concertina wire vs barbed wire
Barbed wire is any wire with sharp points, while concertina wire is specifically a coiled, spring-like form of barbed wire. Not all barbed wire is concertina wire.
Practice
What is concertina wire mainly used for?
Choose one answer.
Concertina wire is a security barrier. It is not used for music, construction, or fishing, although its name comes from a musical instrument.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “concertina wire”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.