bardo
Americannoun
-
bardos
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bardo
First recorded in 1625–30, bardo is from the Tibetan word bár-do “between two” (i.e., a transition, intermediate state)
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.
Tristan’s passage between worlds is anything but serene, and dancers, subtly choreographed by Annie-B Parson, accompany him as he hovers in the tunnel that suggests the bardo of Tibetan Buddhism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026
In Tibetan Buddhism, the bardo is the transitional state between death and rebirth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2025
The mix of gloom and radiance in Silverio’s bardo, shot in lucid-dreaming colors by Darius Khondji, suggests ambivalent karma.
From New York Times ● Nov. 3, 2022
The timing was also significant: The 49th day after death represents the end of the bardo, an intermediate stage between life and rebirth in some Buddhist traditions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2022
It’s like a cultural bardo — between a Kardashian present and a brave Frances McDormand future.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 22, 2021
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.
