barb

¹ American  

[bahrb] / bɑrb /

noun

1. a point or pointed part projecting backward from a main point, as of a fishhook or arrowhead.

   Synonyms:

   spicule, prickle, snag, barbule, prong, spike, spur

2. an obviously or openly unpleasant or cutting remark.

3. Botany, Zoology. a hooked or sharp bristle.

4. Ornithology. one of the processes attached to the rachis of a feather.

5. one of a breed of domestic pigeons, similar to the carriers or homers, having a short, broad bill.

6. any of numerous, small, Old World cyprinid fishes of the genera Barbus and Puntius, often kept in aquariums.

7. Veterinary Pathology. Usually barbs. a small protuberance under the tongue in horses and cattle, especially when inflamed and swollen.

8. Also a linen covering for the throat and breast, formerly worn by women mourners and now only by some nuns.

9. Obsolete. a beard.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to furnish with a barb or barbs.

barb ² American  

[bahrb] / bɑrb /

noun

1. one of a breed of horses raised originally in Barbary.

---

barb ³ American  

[bahrb] / bɑrb /

noun

Slang.

1. barbiturate.

---

barb ¹ British  

/ bɑːb /

noun

1. a subsidiary point facing in the opposite direction to the main point of a fish-hook, harpoon, arrow, etc, intended to make extraction difficult

2. any of various pointed parts, as on barbed wire

3. a cutting remark; gibe

4. any of the numerous hairlike filaments that form the vane of a feather

5. a beardlike growth in certain animals

6. a hooked hair or projection on certain fruits

7. any small cyprinid fish of the genus Barbus (or Puntius ) and related genera, such as B. conchonius ( rosy barb )

8. (usually plural) any of the small fleshy protuberances beneath the tongue in horses and cattle

9. a white linen cloth forming part of a headdress extending from the chin to the upper chest, originally worn by women in the Middle Ages, now worn by nuns of some orders

10. obsolete a beard

---

verb

1. (tr) to provide with a barb or barbs

barb ² British  

/ bɑːb /

noun

1. a breed of horse of North African origin, similar to the Arab but less spirited

---

barb ³ British  

/ bɑːb /

noun

1. a black kelpie See kelpie 1

---

BARB ⁴ British  

/ bɑːb /

acronym

1. Broadcasters' Audience Research Board

---

barb Scientific  

/ bärb /

1. A sharp point projecting backward, as on the stinger of a bee.

2. One of the hairlike branches on the shaft of a feather.

---

Other Word Forms

• barbed adjective

Etymology

Origin of barb¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English barbe “beard, pleated cloth, barb (of an arrow),” from Middle French, Old French barbe, from Latin barba beard

Origin of barb²

First recorded in 1600–10; from French barbe, shortened form of Italian barbero “Barbary steed,” equivalent to Barber(ia) “Barbary” + -o masculine noun suffix

Origin of barb³

First recorded in 1955–60; by shortening

Example Sentences

Using my HB pencil, I work to sketch out the barbs of the feather, drawing lines from the rachis outward.

From Literature

His answer came as a squirrel plucked another barb from the porcupine’s back and held it like a javelin, poised to spear through Clare’s undead heart.

From Literature

Consider the raw drama of the first televised presidential debate, where a sweaty Richard Nixon and confident John F. Kennedy traded barbs.

From Los Angeles Times

He’ll stick around through the series, offering barbed commentary and something like support: “If I humiliate you, it’s to save you from the bigger humiliation of remaining as you are.”

From Los Angeles Times

Four spent their military service stationed near the heavily fortified inter-Korean border, known for barbed wire, harsh winters and intense training.

From Barron's

Related Words

• criticism
• gibe
• insult
• sarcasm