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Definition of "calliope" [cal•li•o•pe]

  • A musical instrument fitted with steam whistles, played from a keyboard. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "calliope" in a sentence
  • "The mechanical calliope is louder now, adding to the urgency in my voice."
  • "Incidentally, you'll be pegged as a first-of-May if you don't call the calliope a cally-ope."
  • "The "Southern Republic," from her immense size and unusually handsome equipment, was a novelty even to the river people; and each afternoon of her starting, crowds came aboard to bid farewell to friends and roam over the vessel, or collected on the bluffs above to see her swing out to the shrill notes of her "calliope," the best and least discordant on the river."