disbar
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Usage
Disbar is sometimes wrongly used where debar is meant: he was debarred (not disbarred ) from attending meetings
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disbarsimple
-
disbarssimple
-
have disbarredperfect
-
has disbarredperfect
-
am disbarringprogressive
-
are disbarringprogressive
-
is disbarringprogressive
-
have been disbarringperfect progressive
-
has been disbarringperfect progressive
Past
-
disbarredsimple
-
had disbarredperfect
-
was disbarringprogressive
-
were disbarringprogressive
-
had been disbarringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disbar
Explanation
To disbar is to officially take away a lawyer’s license to practice law. If a practicing lawyer gets caught doing something illegal or crazy, it’s time to disbar. “The bar” is the exam that lawyers-to-be must pass after law school so they can practice law. The word bar comes from the wooden bar that surrounds the judge, where the barrister (lawyer) states a case. If you're disbarred, you can no longer practice. A lawyer found guilty of a crime or any other unethical behavior could be disbarred. Getting disbarred is a serious matter — you can tell because it happens to lawyers on TV shows all the time.
Vocabulary lists containing disbar
Just Mercy
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One of Us Is Lying
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This Week In Words: Current Events Vocab for January 9–15, 2021
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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.
The ship we moor on these obscure abodes; Disbark the sheep, an offering to the gods; And, hellward bending, o'er the beach descry The doleful passage to the infernal sky.
From The Odyssey by Pope, Alexander
Disbark, dis-b�rk′, v.t. to land from a ship: to disembark.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
Disbark, dis-b�rk′, v.t. to strip of bark, to bark.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
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.
