barrage
[buh-rahzh; especially British bar-ahzh for 1, 2, 4, 5; bahr-ij for 3]
- Military. a heavy barrier of artillery fire to protect one's own advancing or retreating troops or to stop the advance of enemy troops.
- an overwhelming quantity or explosion, as of words, blows, or criticisms: a barrage of questions.
- Civil Engineering. an artificial obstruction in a watercourse to increase the depth of the water, facilitate irrigation, etc.
- Mycology. an aversion response of sexually incompatible fungus cultures that are growing in proximity, revealed by a persistent growth gap between them.
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- to subject to a barrage.
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Origin of barrage
Synonyms
See more synonyms for barrage on Thesaurus.com2. volley, torrent, deluge, burst, storm.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for barrage
Contemporary Examples
The barrage and immediacy of these images magnifies these horrors.
Ultimately, The Slap becomes something heartwarming amidst the barrage of stinging smacks.
Styles quickly removed the photo from his Twitter account, but not before fielding a barrage of angry tweets.
What possible change can any one citizen instigate against that barrage of anti-intellectual, gun-toting paranoia?
I became numb to the barrage of smells: citrus disinfectants, burning trash, sewage, sweat, and diesel.
Historical Examples
It was on the brink of the Barrage itself that I spoke to Bailey.
It Happened in EgyptC. N. Williamson
But we did not for a long time leave the influence of the Barrage.
It Happened in EgyptC. N. Williamson
I could fancy him grinning behind the sheen of his barrage at my question.
And all around him the anti-aircraft guns were placing a barrage of death.
Our barrage had lifted, but we saw no sign of advancing infantry.
Pushed and the Return PushGeorge Herbert Fosdike Nichols, (AKA Quex)
barrage
- military the firing of artillery to saturate an area, either to protect against an attack or to support an advance
- an overwhelming and continuous delivery of something, as words, questions, or punches
- a usually gated construction, similar to a low dam, across a watercourse, esp one to increase the depth of water to assist navigation or irrigation
- fencing a heat or series of bouts in a competition
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- (tr) to attack or confront with a barragethe speaker was barraged with abuse
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Word Origin
C19: from French, from barrer to obstruct; see bar 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for barrage
n.
1859, "action of barring; man-made barrier in a stream," from French barrer "to stop," from barre "bar," from Old French barre (see bar (n.1)). Artillery sense is 1916, from World War I French phrase tir de barrage "barrier fire" intended to isolate the objective. As a verb by 1917. Related: Barraged; barraging.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper