bar code

British  

noun

1. Also called: Universal Product Code.   UPC.  commerce a machine-readable arrangement of numbers and parallel lines of different widths printed on a package, which can be electronically scanned at a checkout to register the price of the goods and to activate computer stock-checking and reordering

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bar code Cultural  

1. A series of parallel lines that can be read by an optical scanner and decoded by a computer into usable information. The ten-line Universal Product Code (UPC) on the packaging of retail items is an example of this. The key to this code is the variation in line thickness and separation.

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Example Sentences

The Montreal resident uses an app called Nuj that has him scan the bar code on a shampoo bottle in his bathroom.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

The machines scan the bar code on the back of the membership card, showing the membership record, including photo and status.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 18, 2024

Mr Jack said on Sunday there would be a single bar code system and membership of just one scheme would be needed instead of multiple schemes so there would be no extra costs.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2023

Boards with a bar code next to their serial number or those with a charging port that only has one pin are excluded from the recall.

From New York Times • Mar. 31, 2023

She tapped the bar code on James’s book.

From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman