barrel
Americannoun
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barrels
plural
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a cylindrical wooden container with slightly bulging sides made of staves hooped together, and with flat, parallel ends.
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the quantity that such a vessel of some standard size can hold: for most liquids, 31½ U.S. gallons (119 L); for petroleum, 42 U.S. gallons (159 L); for dry materials, 105 U.S. dry quarts (115 L). bbl
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any large quantity.
a barrel of fun.
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any container, case, or part similar to a wooden barrel in form.
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Ordnance. the tube of a gun.
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Machinery. the chamber of a pump in which the piston works.
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a drum turning on a shaft, as in a weight-driven clock.
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Horology. the cylindrical case in a watch or clock within which the mainspring is coiled.
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Ornithology Obsolete. a calamus or quill.
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the trunk of a quadruped, especially of a horse, cow, etc.
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Nautical. the main portion of a capstan, about which the rope winds, between the drumhead at the top and the pawl rim at the bottom.
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a rotating horizontal cylinder in which manufactured objects are coated or polished by tumbling in a suitable substance.
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any structure having the form of a barrel vault.
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Also called throat. Automotive. a passageway in a carburetor that has the shape of a Venturi tube.
verb (used with object)
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barrels,
present (3rd person singular)
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barreled,
past participle, past
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barrelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
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barreling,
present participle
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barrelling
present participle (especially British)
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to put or pack in a barrel or barrels.
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to finish (metal parts) by tumbling in a barrel.
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Informal. to force to go or proceed at high speed.
He barreled his car through the dense traffic.
verb (used without object)
-
barrels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
barreled,
past participle, past
-
barrelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
barreling,
present participle
-
barrelling
present participle (especially British)
idioms
noun
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a cylindrical container usually bulging outwards in the middle and held together by metal hoops; cask
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Also called: barrelful. the amount that a barrel can hold
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a unit of capacity used in brewing, equal to 36 Imperial gallons
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a unit of capacity used in the oil and other industries, normally equal to 42 US gallons or 35 Imperial gallons
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a thing or part shaped like a barrel, esp a tubular part of a machine
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the tube through which the projectile of a firearm is discharged
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horology the cylindrical drum in a watch or clock that is rotated by the mainspring
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the trunk of a four-legged animal
the barrel of a horse
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the quill of a feather
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informal a large measure; a great deal (esp in the phrases barrel of fun, barrel of laughs )
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informal the hollow inner side of a wave
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informal powerless
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informal to be forced to use one's last and weakest resource
verb
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(tr) to put into a barrel or barrels
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informal (intr; foll by along, in, etc) (intr) to travel or move very fast
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informal to ride on the inside of a wave
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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barrelsimple
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barrelssimple
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have barreledperfect
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have barrelledperfect
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has barreledperfect
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has barrelledperfect
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am barrelingprogressive
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am barrellingprogressive
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are barrelingprogressive
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are barrellingprogressive
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is barrelingprogressive
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is barrellingprogressive
-
have been barrelingperfect progressive
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have been barrellingperfect progressive
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has been barrelingperfect progressive
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has been barrellingperfect progressive
Past
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barreledsimple
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barrelledsimple
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had barreledperfect
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had barrelledperfect
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was barrelingprogressive
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was barrellingprogressive
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were barrelingprogressive
-
were barrellingprogressive
-
had been barrelingperfect progressive
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had been barrellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of barrel
1250–1300; Middle English barell < Anglo-French baril, Old French barril < Vulgar Latin *barrīculum, equivalent to *barrīc ( a ), perhaps derivative of Late Latin barra bar 1 + Latin -ulum -ule; compare Medieval Latin (circa 800) barriclus small cask
Explanation
A barrel is a big container used to store liquids. If you're moving a barrel, it's best to tip it on its side because its shape bulges at the center, so that it's easy to roll. Barrels hold liquid in them — anything from wine to beer to oil. A barrel can also be the tube in a gun that a bullet travels through. You might hear the expression "stare down the barrel of a gun," which means you're looking at a gun pointed right at your face. A barrel is also used as a unit of measure or to refer to a large unit of measure. When someone says they are having "barrels of fun," they're having a really great time.
Vocabulary lists containing barrel
Out of the Dust
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"After Apple-Picking" by Robert Frost
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I Survived the Children's Blizzard, 1888
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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.
See Examples For:
Front-month WTI crude oil futures are 0.5% higher at $84.92 per barrel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Brent crude futures climbed to roughly $91 a barrel Monday after Iranian media said an oil tanker had been seized in the Strait of Hormuz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
WTI is up 0.7% at $83.01 a barrel and Brent is up 0.9% at $89.34.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
That could see oil futures fall within a band between $65 a barrel and $80 a barrel, the analysts noted.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
We were out of breath by the rain barrel, but that was no place to pause.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
Rosebank is estimated to contain the equivalent of up to 300 million barrels of oil and at its peak will produce approximately 69,000 barrels a day.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
The IEA now forecasts that demand will drop by 1.6 million barrels a day in 2026.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
Meanwhile, the Department of Energy announced Monday that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 6.1 million barrels to just under 300 million barrels last week.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
With production at Platform Gilda dwindling to 1,100 barrels per day, staff said the rig would also run its course if it weren’t for fracking.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The chandlery was crammed with everything for ships—everything from barrels of salt beef to cables and marline-spikes.
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
In the next 50 seconds or so, Nicolson barreled through precarious gaps in the blurry landscaping, through a tunnel of hay bales and rock walls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
She said she grabbed her 5-year-old, Zachary, pulling him to safety as the SUV driven by Erickson barreled through the marked crosswalk on Triunfo Canyon Road.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
Eastern time Sunday as a winter storm barreled across the Midwest.
From Barron's ● Mar. 15, 2026
She was cut off when a giant inflatable baby barreled into them.
From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2025
Hannibal barreled into the fort, arrows and rocks bouncing harmlessly off his Kevlar armor.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
Police are investigating a dramatic crash Tuesday where an SUV drove onto the sidewalk and barrelled into a vendor in downtown Los Angeles’ flower district, injuring six people.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2026
The American had the crowd on his side but Zverev's serve was unrelenting and he barrelled into a 5-1 lead in the third set.
From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026
Will Smith barrelled up a splitter Gausman left just high enough to trade places with Edman on an RBI double to left.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2025
Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm to strike Jamaica in modern history, barrelled across the country on Tuesday, leaving behind a trail of ruin.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2025
A dozen centaurs barrelled through the ranks, yelling and waving their clubs, followed by a horde of two-headed men banging on trash-can lids.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
The Brewers, who reside in the sport’s smallest media market, are barreling toward their fourth consecutive division crown and eighth postseason appearance in nine seasons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
You don’t need to be rich to burn the road behind you to the point of no return, just confident enough to keep barreling forward.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
Four days later, he sent Argentina barreling toward defeat in the World Cup final against Spain by being ejected moments before extra time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
A GMC truck slammed into a Mercedes SUV that was waiting for a parking spot along Venice Boulevard and then came barreling toward Stannard and Sadie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
I saw it coming already, like a barreling wave with a mighty undertow.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
And so, on we go, barrelling toward the next general election, which must take place by 2029 but will likely be sooner.
From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2026
It’s not enough to come barrelling into a conversation with a long-winded explanation of your personal dogma; you must also confidently push the value of those ideas, too.
From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2026
It was barrelling far from south-western Mexico, and it is not expected to make landfall either.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2023
Some 80 surfers could work different waves simultaneously: barrelling waves, big waves, kid-friendly waves, Knieriem said.
From Washington Times ● May 29, 2023
The walls shifted and Leo saw her barrelling towards them in her chariot.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
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.
