Definition

1. Noun:
   • A musical instrument: A large keyboard instrument, typically found in churches, that produces sound by driving air through pipes or reeds.
   • A part of a living body: A fully differentiated structural and functional unit in an animal or plant that is specialized for a specific task, such as the heart or liver.
   • A means of communication: A newspaper, magazine, or other periodical that represents the views of a particular group or organization.
   • An administrative body: A government agency or department that performs a specific function.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Musical Instrument):
  • The sound of the organ filled the cathedral.
  • He learned to play the pipe organ.
• Noun (Body Part):
  • The heart is a vital organ.
  • Surgeons successfully transplanted the organ.
• Noun (Publication):
  • The newsletter serves as the official organ of the historical society.
• Noun (Administrative Body):
  • This department acts as an organ of the federal government.

Advanced Usage

• "House organ": A periodical published by and for the employees or members of a particular company or organization.
  • The company's house organ features employee achievements.
• "Organ of state": A government institution or agency.
  • The judiciary is an independent organ of state.

Variants and Related Words

• Organist (n): A person who plays the organ.
• Organic (adj): Relating to or derived from living matter; or, having a systematic and coordinated structure.
• Organize (v): To arrange into a structured whole.
• Barrel organ (n): A small organ played by turning a handle, often used by street musicians.

Synonyms

• Instrument (for the musical meaning).
• Gland, body part (for the biological meaning).
• Publication, mouthpiece, journal (for the communicative meaning).
• Agency, branch, arm (for the administrative meaning).

Related Phrases

• Vital organ: An organ essential to life, such as the heart, brain, or lungs.
  • The accident damaged several vital organs.
• Sense organ: An organ that responds to external stimuli, such as the eye or ear.
  • The skin is the body's largest sense organ.

Related Idioms

• To play the organ: To perform music on the organ.
  • She has been asked to play the organ at the wedding.
• The organ of speech: The parts of the body used in producing speech (e.g., tongue, larynx).
  • Phonetics studies the organs of speech.

Noun

1. a free-reed instrument in which air is forced through the reeds by bellows
2. wind instrument whose sound is produced by means of pipes arranged in sets supplied with air from a bellows and controlled from a large complex musical keyboard
3. a periodical that is published by a special interest group
   • the organ of the communist party
4. (music) an electronic simulation of a pipe organ
5. a government agency or instrument devoted to the performance of some specific function
   • The Census Bureau is an organ of the Commerce Department
6. a fully differentiated structural and functional unit in an animal that is specialized for some particular function