barn

¹ American  

[bahrn] / bɑrn /

noun

1. a building for storing hay, grain, etc., and often for housing livestock.

2. a very large garage for buses, trucks, etc.; carbarn.

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verb (used with object)

1. to store (hay, grain, etc.) in a barn.

barn ² American  

[bahrn] / bɑrn /

noun

Physics.

1. a unit of nuclear cross section, equal to 10 −24 square centimeter. b

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barn ¹ British  

/ bɑːn /

noun

1. a large farm outbuilding, used chiefly for storing hay, grain, etc, but also for housing livestock

2. a large shed for sheltering railroad cars, trucks, etc

3. any large building, esp an unattractive one

4. (modifier) relating to a system of poultry farming in which birds are allowed to move freely within a barn

   barn eggs

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barn ² British  

/ bɑːn /

noun

1.  b.  a unit of nuclear cross section equal to 10 ^{– 28} square metre

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barn Idioms  

1. see can't hit the broad side of a barn; lock the barn door after the horse is stolen.

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Other Word Forms

• barnlike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of barn¹

before 950; Middle English bern, Old English berern ( bere ( see barley ¹) + ern, ǣrn house, cognate with Old Frisian fīaern cowhouse, Old High German erin, Gothic razn, Old Norse rann house; cf. ransack, rest ¹)

Origin of barn²

First recorded in 1945–50; special use of barn ¹

Explanation

A barn is an outbuilding on a farm used to keep animals or crops safe and dry. A farmer might store hay in the upper part of a barn, and have stalls for horses in the main section. In rural areas there are many barns, often built from wood and standing near a main farmhouse. Some barns have wide doors with stalls for animals inside, and a hayloft at the top, where hay or other crops can be stored. In Old English, a barn or bereærn literally meant "barley house," from bere, "barley," and aern, "house."

Example Sentences

Holding one of the roses that came with Golden Tempo’s victory, she added, “And I can’t wait to drop one of these off at our old barn here.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2026

They then laid out their plans for the land, explaining that they planned to build a farmhouse, guest spaces, and a barn, while also creating space for cows, horses, chickens, and goats.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026

According to the National Weather Service, three separate tornadoes were confirmed in the state on Tuesday afternoon, one ripping the metal roof off a barn and snapping tree trunks in half.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

Orris shares these stories with Timble, a snow-white owl with luminous yellow eyes who visits the barn each day at dusk “in a rush of wings and night air.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

With Rowdy in the lead, we started for the barn.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Related Words

• outbuilding
• shed