definitions

barn

1
[ bahrn ]
/ bɑrn /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR barn ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a building for storing hay, grain, etc., and often for housing livestock.
a very large garage for buses, trucks, etc.; carbarn.

verb (used with object)

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

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RELATED WORDS

shed, outbuilding

Nearby words

barmecidal, barmecide, barmecides, barmen, barmy, barn, barn dance, barn door, barn owl, barn raising, barn swallow

Origin of barn

1
before 950; Middle English bern, Old English berern (bere (see barley1) + ern, ǣrn house, cognate with Old Frisian fīaern cowhouse, Old High German erin, Gothic razn, Old Norse rann house; cf. ransack, rest1)
Related formsbarn·like, adjective

Definition for barn (2 of 2)

barn

2
[ bahrn ]
/ bɑrn /

noun Physics.

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

Origin of barn

2
First recorded in 1945–50; special use of barn1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for barn

British Dictionary definitions for barn (1 of 2)

barn

1
/ (bɑːn) /

noun

a large farm outbuilding, used chiefly for storing hay, grain, etc, but also for housing livestock
US and Canadian a large shed for sheltering railroad cars, trucks, etc
any large building, esp an unattractive one
(modifier) relating to a system of poultry farming in which birds are allowed to move freely within a barnbarn eggs

Word Origin for barn

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

British Dictionary definitions for barn (2 of 2)

barn

2
/ (bɑːn) /

noun

a unit of nuclear cross section equal to 10 – 28 square metreSymbol: b

Word Origin for barn

C20: from barn 1; so called because of the relatively large cross section
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for barn

barn

n.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with barn

barn

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

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.