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 ( 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

Example Sentences

When the BBC visited in November, workers were busy knocking down a decrepit old barn, one of many that dot the Appalachian landscape.

From BBC

To assuage wildlife concerns, National Grid in 2020 built a bespoke bat barn during the construction of a new overhead line.

From The Wall Street Journal

The person I bought it from was in Washoe Valley, Nev. He told me he found the car in a barn or warehouse in Southern California.

From The Wall Street Journal

So, they asked themselves: “How do we make this chandelier less obnoxious? Let’s put a barn around it!”

From MarketWatch

“The posturing and maneuvering is over. The hay is in the barn. The bricks have been laid. I’d be very surprised if they aren’t talking already.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• outbuilding
• shed