barbed wire
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of barbed wire
First recorded in 1860–65
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How does barbed-wire compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
My coffee table is made of aluminum and resembles barbed wire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 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
A quarter-mile roll of barbed wire has doubled, from $60 to $130.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
The album was preceded in May by “Rough and Twisted,” a wandering blues number with riffs like barbed wire, and “In the Stars,” which softens arena rock with polished backing vocals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Before them, the concentration camp at Auschwitz spread out, a desolate flat place surrounded by heavy chain-link fence, topped with coils of barbed wire.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
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.
