barnyard

American  

[bahrn-yahrd] / ˈbɑrnˌjɑrd /

noun

barnyards plural

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.

barnyard British  

/ ˈbɑːnˌjɑːd /

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 earthy

   barnyard humour

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• barnyards
  plural

Etymology

Origin of barnyard

First recorded in 1505–15; barn ¹ + yard ²

Explanation

A barnyard is a fenced-in area on a farm, usually next to a barn, which sometimes contains goats, chickens, or other farm animals. You can also call a barnyard a "farmyard." On many farms, animals are moved throughout the day from one area to another — in a barn to be milked, or in a pasture to graze on grass, for example. A barnyard gives farmers a place close to farm buildings where animals can be kept safely. In E.B. White's beloved children's book "Charlotte's Web," Wilbur the pig lives out most of his happy life in a barnyard on a small farm.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

barnyard barnyards

Reuters reports that they’re resorting to barnyard language to attack Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s new prime minister.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 2025

I learned the many shades of stink — from barnyard funk to gym sock to overripe fruit — and how to spot the difference.

From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2025

While he speaks to me from his home in Sierra Leone, a rooster crows in the background, punctuating his sentences like a barnyard hype man.

From Slate ● Mar. 26, 2025

Trouble and the rest of the herd spent their days roaming three canyons and being tended to by staff in the animal barnyard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2023

“And now I’m going to get some sleep before our coachman delivers us unto the joys of the Ludington family barnyard and their odiferous pigs.”

From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson

But there is real risk in our own backyards — and barnyards.

From New York Times ● Jul. 25, 2023

Montreal, with its own private atmosphere of celebration and voluptuous sorrow, standing as it does alongside the snowbound barnyards of Vermont, the silent forests of Maine.

From New York Times ● Nov. 2, 2018

For example, when Bouckaert wanted “funky” aromas, such as the smell of barnyards or horse blankets, but without the usual accompanying fruity notes, he tried four of the lab’s strains that showed some promise.

From Nature ● Jul. 25, 2016

Thousands of basketball-obsessed kids, in schoolyards and backyards and barnyards around the country, may be trying a new kind of shot come Tuesday morning.

From Time ● Apr. 8, 2014

When the fields yielded little game, they worked the barnyards and farm gardens.

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George