barbed wire

American  

noun

1. a wire or strand of wires having small pieces of sharply pointed wire twisted around it at short intervals, used chiefly for fencing in livestock, keeping out trespassers, etc.

---

barbed wire British  

noun

1. Also called (US): barbwire.  strong wire with sharply pointed barbs at close intervals

---

Etymology

Origin of barbed wire

First recorded in 1860–65

Compare meaning

How does barbed-wire compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• razor wire vs. barbed wire

Example Sentences

Surveillance camera footage captured Mott scaling an 8-foot fence topped with barbed wire at the perimeter of the airport in just 15 seconds, then walking across the runway.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026

So who is the father of barbed wire?

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

The pockmarked earth on Johannesburg's eastern fringe, until last week a humble cattle kraal ringed with barbed wire, now stands as the unlikely centre of South Africa's latest gold fever.

From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026

"The pain is excruciating, at its worst it's like barbed wire inside me and clinging to my organs. I am so ill I can often spend days in bed," Maguire said.

From BBC • Jan. 8, 2026

Reverend Abbott, when he had been at the church the summer before, had put barbed wire on the pipe to keep us from climbing it to get balls that went up there.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers

Related Words

• fence
• fencing