barn

¹

[bahrn]

noun

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

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

verb (used with object)

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

barn

²

[bahrn]

noun

Physics.

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

barn

¹

/ 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

barn

²

/ bɑːn /

noun

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

Other Word Forms

• barnlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of barn¹

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

Origin of barn²

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of barn¹

Old English beren , from bere barley + ærn room; see _barley ¹

Origin of barn²

C20: from _barn ¹ ; so called because of the relatively large cross section

Idioms and Phrases

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

Example Sentences

Years later, while studying rats in college, he went to extreme lengths to understand their behaviours - once he slept on the floor of a rat-infested barn to observe it first hand.

From BBC

Both pets and feral barn cats got sick after eating raw pet food that harbored the virus.

From Los Angeles Times

“There’s a barn, and the back half of the barn has a big white wall. And I was like, ‘Oh, this is great.

From Los Angeles Times

He called the mayor's measures "palliative", and a case of "closing the barn door after the horse has bolted".

From BBC

In addition the the great horned owl, the center has recently rescued orioles and barn owls from similar traps.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• outbuilding 
• shed