barbed wire

American  

noun

1. a wire or strand of wires having small pieces of sharply pointed wire twisted around it at short intervals, used chiefly for fencing in livestock, keeping out trespassers, etc.

---

barbed wire British  

noun

1. Also called (US): barbwire.  strong wire with sharply pointed barbs at close intervals

---

Etymology

Origin of barbed wire

First recorded in 1860–65

Compare meaning

How does barbed-wire compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• razor wire vs. barbed wire

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

barbed wire

She describes it as if "heated barbed wire" were wrapped around her abdomen: "It's like my organs are being pulled apart."

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

Polish and German soldiers worked for five weeks at the frontier to dig trenches, lay barbed wire and place long lines of concrete barriers known as "hedgehogs" across the landscape.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

Higdon rolled under a barbed wire fence to escape.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026

Before Sánchez took office, he railed against the barbed wire fence crisscrossing Ceuta’s ridgeline, claiming Spain had a moral duty toward refugees.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Rocks, dirt, barbed wire, ferocious dogs, menacing guards, and acre after acre of drab barracks stretched as far as I could see.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson

Related Words

• fence
• fencing