barred
Americanadjective
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provided with one or more bars.
a barred prison window.
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striped; streaked.
barred fabrics.
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Ornithology. (of feathers) marked with transverse bands of distinctive color.
Etymology
Origin of barred
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at bar 1, -ed 3
Explanation
Something that is barred prevents your entry. If you are trying to sneak into your friend's house, avoid the barred windows. To be barred is to be blocked from entrance or not allowed to do something — as if there were imaginary bars in your path. The adjective barred comes from the noun bar, and it's easy to remember if you picture the classic barred cell where inmates are confined. Barred can also describe something that is marked with bars, like a barred owl.
Vocabulary lists containing barred
The Voice That Challenged a Nation
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RBG's Brave & Brilliant Women
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Kareem Between
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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.
Appeared in the June 30, 2026, print edition as 'Opposition Leader Says Return Barred'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 29, 2026
Barred owls originated in eastern North America and expanded west along with European settlers who planted trees and suppressed fires, biologists believe.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 23, 2025
Sgt Singh was dismissed with immediate affect, and both officers were added to the College of Policing Barred List.
From BBC • Apr. 11, 2025
Barred owls have also emerged as a threat to the California spotted owl, a closely related subspecies in the Sierra Nevada and the mountains of coastal and Southern California.
From New York Times • Apr. 29, 2024
Barred by law from invoking race explicitly, those committed to racial hierarchy were forced to search for new means of achieving their goals according to the new rules of American democracy.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
