barrage

American  

[buh-rahzh, bar-ahzh, bahr-ij] / bəˈrɑʒ, ˈbær ɑʒ, ˈbɑr ɪdʒ /

noun

barrages plural

1. Military. a heavy barrier of artillery fire to protect one's own advancing or retreating troops or to stop the advance of enemy troops.

2. an overwhelming quantity or explosion, as of words, blows, or criticisms.

   a barrage of questions.

   Synonyms:

   storm, burst, deluge, torrent, volley

3. Civil Engineering. an artificial obstruction in a watercourse to increase the depth of the water, facilitate irrigation, etc.

4. Mycology. an aversion response of sexually incompatible fungus cultures that are growing in proximity, revealed by a persistent growth gap between them.

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verb (used with object)

barrages, present (3rd person singular) barraged, past participle, past barraging present participle

1. to subject to a barrage.

barrage British  

/ ˈbærɑːʒ /

noun

1. military the firing of artillery to saturate an area, either to protect against an attack or to support an advance

2. an overwhelming and continuous delivery of something, as words, questions, or punches

3. a usually gated construction, similar to a low dam, across a watercourse, esp one to increase the depth of water to assist navigation or irrigation

4. fencing a heat or series of bouts in a competition

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verb

1. (tr) to attack or confront with a barrage

   the speaker was barraged with abuse

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• barrages
  plural

Participles

• barraging
  present
• barraged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• barrage
  simple
• barrages
  simple
• have barraged
  perfect
• has barraged
  perfect
• am barraging
  progressive
• are barraging
  progressive
• is barraging
  progressive
• have been barraging
  perfect progressive
• has been barraging
  perfect progressive

Past

• barraged
  simple
• had barraged
  perfect
• was barraging
  progressive
• were barraging
  progressive
• had been barraging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will barrage
  simple
• will have barraged
  perfect
• will be barraging
  progressive
• will have been barraging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of barrage

1855–60; < French: blocking, barring off, barrier, equivalent to barr ( er ) to bar ¹ + -age -age; artillery sense by ellipsis from French tir de barrage barrier fire

Explanation

A barrage is something that comes quickly and heavily — as an attack of bullets or artillery, or a fast spray of words. Sometimes in movies or news footage, the audience gets a glimpse from behind a mounted weapon and sees a heavy rain of bombs or bullets — called a barrage — going toward a target, sending as much POW! as possible to hit a wide area. Words become a barrage when spoken or written in uncontrollable anger or with overflowing emotion: "Her human-rights speech was a barrage of passion. It was hard to keep up with, but we felt the intensity of her cause."

Example Sentences

This has been revealed through 234 boreholes drilled by the council in the 1990s to monitor groundwater levels during the construction of the Cardiff Bay Barrage.

From BBC • Nov. 5, 2025

Woodson’s unit, the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, was part of First Army during the invasion of Nazi-occupied France.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 10, 2023

I’m particularly excited by the Crystal Barrage changes.

From The Verge • Mar. 17, 2022

My favorite of all the mega abilities is Rocket’s Five Barrell Barrage which sees him trot out a bulky projectile contraption that looks fabulously incongruous supported by his small frame.

From Washington Post • Oct. 29, 2021

It was on the brink of the Barrage itself that I spoke to Bailey.

From It Happened in Egypt by Williamson, C. N. (Charles Norris)

Related Words

• assault
• attack
• blast
• bombardment
• burst
• deluge
• hail
• onslaught
• rain
• shower
• storm
• stream
• surge
• torrent