Meaning & use
hand organ
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A small musical instrument played by turning a handle, traditionally used by street musicians.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a hand organ or two hand organs.
Patterns
- play a hand organ
- a hand organ grinder
An old man was turning a hand organ on the corner of the street.
The museum has a collection of hand organs from the nineteenth century.
She heard the sound of a hand organ coming from the square.
Word forms
| plural | hand organs |
|---|
Common combinations
- play a hand organ
- He learned to play a hand organ when he was a child.
- hand organ music
- The hand organ music gave the street a nostalgic feel.
- turn a hand organ
- You turn a hand organ by rotating the handle on its side.
Synonyms and how they differ
- barrel organ
- Barrel organ is the more common modern term for the same instrument; hand organ is now slightly old-fashioned.
- street organ
- Street organ emphasizes that it is played outdoors; hand organ focuses on the turning handle.
Word family
- organ noun
- A large keyboard instrument, or a part of the body with a special function.
- organist noun
- A person who plays an organ.
Commonly confused: hand organ or mouth organ?
hand organ vs mouth organ
A mouth organ is a small wind instrument played with the mouth (a harmonica), not a hand-turned instrument.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'hand organ' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A hand organ is played by turning a handle, so 'turned the handle' is correct. Blowing into it describes a mouth organ, and it is not a piano or a radio program.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hand organ”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.