barbershop
Americannoun
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especially British, barber's shop. the place of business of a barber.
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the singing of four-part harmony in barbershop style or the music sung in this style.
adjective
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specializing in the unaccompanied part-singing of popular songs in which four voices move in close, highly chromatic harmony.
a barbershop quartet.
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characteristic of such part-singing.
noun
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the premises of a barber
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(modifier) denoting or characterized by a type of close four-part harmony for male voices, popular in romantic and sentimental songs of the 1920s and 1930s
a barbershop quartet
Etymology
Origin of barbershop
Explanation
A barbershop is one of the places where people go to get their hair cut. You might visit a barbershop at the beginning of every summer to get a short crew cut. While some hair cutters call themselves stylists and the places where they work salons, others are barbers who trim hair and shave necks in barbershops. The most common customer at a barbershop is a man who wants a quick haircut and possibly a beard trim or shave as well. In the 1500's, a barbershop was called a "barbery," from the Latin barba, or "beard." A "barbershop quartet" is a four-person, harmonizing singing group.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Your meal might involve entering a whimsical Italian restaurant through a bathroom, or eating a 10-course menu of fine Korean food at a former underground barbershop.
From Slate ● Oct. 13, 2026
A neighbour told him she had seen them leave and he kept searching through the streets until he found them outside the barbershop where he worked.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
In the beachside city of Tyre, 40-year-old Hussein Hassan told AFP he had fled with his family to north Lebanon during the war but returned this week to reopen his barbershop.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
Angel Delgadillo Sr. had opened a pool hall and barbershop along the road.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
Flames eat away at the roof, and smoke billows from the windows of the barbershop next door.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
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