barn raising


noun
  1. (in rural areas) a party, usually providing food, drink, etc., for the purpose of assisting a neighbor to put up a new barn.

Origin of barn raising

1
An Americanism dating back to 1855–60

Words Nearby barn raising

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use barn raising in a sentence

  • Five years from spring, other Amish folk would come to homestead—what a barn-raising they'd have!

    Blind Man's Lantern | Allen Kim Lang
  • Come a muster or a barn raising or an election or anything, Harve Allen fought somebody—and licked him.

    Back Home | Irvin S. Cobb
  • It can be made as much of a social institution as corn husking and barn raising were formerly.

  • I have never seen a prettier barn-raising than that, and I have fiddled at a many since then.

    Rosin the Beau | Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards
  • It was like pioneer days, when "barn-raising" and "bees" made life worth while in a wild, stern land.

    Wayside Courtships | Hamlin Garland