barn

[bahrn]

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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.

Origin of barn

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

barn

[bahrn]

noun Physics.

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

Origin of barn

First recorded in 1945–50; special use of barn¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for barn

shed, outbuilding

Examples from the Web for barn

Contemporary Examples of barn

He was born in a barn to penniless parents who were part of a people under occupation.
Jesus Wasn’t Born Rich. Think About It.
Gene Robinson
December 25, 2014
From the roof of the barn is a long loop of rope, through this the turkey is suspended by its legs.
Confessions of a Turkey Killer
Tom Sykes
November 26, 2014
There is an ancestral homestead, but it has a meth lab in the barn.
Book Bag: Gritty Stories From the Real Montana
Carrie La Seur
October 2, 2014
Every spring and fall, the chicken coop in the barn must be cleaned.
What Did TJ Mean By “Pursuit of Happiness,” Anyway?
P. J. O’Rourke
June 8, 2014
Also happy to get some fresh air (and a huge, aromatic cigar at a safe distance from the barn).
What Did TJ Mean By “Pursuit of Happiness,” Anyway?
P. J. O’Rourke
June 8, 2014

Historical Examples of barn

Then it's better to take him out back of the barn and shoot him, by Gad!
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
And Will smiled back his gratification as they started for the barn.
The Raid From Beausejour; And How The Carter Boys Lifted The Mortgage
Charles G. D. Roberts
Lights blazed in every window; a dozen automobiles were parked before the barn.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
"I'll do all I can," K. promised, and followed the path to the barn.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
When, five minutes later, she beckoned him from the door of the barn, her eyes were red.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart

British Dictionary definitions for barn

barn

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

barn

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

Old English bereærn "barn," literally "barley house," from bere "barley" (see barley) + aern "house," metathesized from *rann, *rasn (cf. Old Norse rann, Gothic razn "house," Old English rest "resting place;" sealtærn "saltworks").

Barley was not always the only crop grown as the data recovered at Bishopstone might suggest but it is always the most commonly represented, followed by wheat and then rye and oats. [C.J. Arnold, "An Archaeology of the Early Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms," 1988, p.36]

Another word for "barn" in Old English was beretun, "barley enclosure" (from tun "enclosure, house"), which accounts for the many Barton place names on the English map, and the common surname. Barn door used figuratively for "broad target" and "great size" since 1540s.

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.