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barnyard

[bahrn-yahrd]
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noun
  1. Also called barnlot. a yard next to or surrounding a barn.
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adjective
  1. of, relating to, or typical of a barnyard: barnyard noises; simple paintings of barnyard life.
  2. indecent; smutty; vulgar: His barnyard humor made us all blush.
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Origin of barnyard

First recorded in 1505–15; barn1 + yard2
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

pen, corral, feedlot, barnlot

Examples from the Web for barnyard

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The little house was bustling; a dozen automobiles were parked in the barnyard.

    K

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • It was as if their barnyard well had burst into a mighty, high-shooting geyser.

    Dust

    Mr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius

  • But when he saw her at the barnyard gate, he was again in the dark as to her motive.

  • In our barnyard no family is more respected than that of the ducks.

  • "We are not the first, after all," said the preacher as he saw the number of conveyances in and about the barnyard.

    Patchwork

    Anna Balmer Myers

British Dictionary definitions for barnyard

barnyard

noun
  1. a yard adjoining a barn, in which farm animals are kept
  2. (modifier) belonging to or characteristic of a barnyard
  3. (modifier) crude or earthybarnyard humour
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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 barnyard

n.

1510s, from barn + yard (n.1). Figurative of coarse or uncivilized behavior from 1920.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper