barrage
Americannoun
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Military. a heavy barrier of artillery fire to protect one's own advancing or retreating troops or to stop the advance of enemy troops.
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an overwhelming quantity or explosion, as of words, blows, or criticisms.
a barrage of questions.
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Civil Engineering. an artificial obstruction in a watercourse to increase the depth of the water, facilitate irrigation, etc.
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Mycology. an aversion response of sexually incompatible fungus cultures that are growing in proximity, revealed by a persistent growth gap between them.
verb (used with object)
noun
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military the firing of artillery to saturate an area, either to protect against an attack or to support an advance
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an overwhelming and continuous delivery of something, as words, questions, or punches
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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
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fencing a heat or series of bouts in a competition
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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barragesimple
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barragessimple
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have barragedperfect
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has barragedperfect
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am barragingprogressive
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are barragingprogressive
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is barragingprogressive
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have been barragingperfect progressive
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has been barragingperfect progressive
Past
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barragedsimple
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had barragedperfect
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was barragingprogressive
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were barragingprogressive
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had been barragingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of barrage
1855–60; < French: blocking, barring off, barrier, equivalent to barr ( er ) to bar 1 + -age -age; artillery sense by ellipsis from French tir de barrage barrier fire
Explanation
A barrage is something that comes quickly and heavily — as an attack of bullets or artillery, or a fast spray of words. Sometimes in movies or news footage, the audience gets a glimpse from behind a mounted weapon and sees a heavy rain of bombs or bullets — called a barrage — going toward a target, sending as much POW! as possible to hit a wide area. Words become a barrage when spoken or written in uncontrollable anger or with overflowing emotion: "Her human-rights speech was a barrage of passion. It was hard to keep up with, but we felt the intensity of her cause."
Vocabulary lists containing barrage
Touching Spirit Bear
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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Grade 10, List 4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Panicked, I responded with a barrage of questions: Are you unsatisfied with my work?
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
The study does not establish that the asteroid barrage caused those changes, but the coincidence offers a compelling target for future research.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026
The barrage of missiles and drones hit ships that specialize in short voyages in and out of the Persian Gulf known as “shuttle runs.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Even with curtains and tents erected to shield guests from the barrage of news cameras and anxious fans, many captured celebrity guests leaving hotels and arriving to the venue.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
The woman sitting next to her joins in the barrage of insults until she sees me.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
In vain, officials have urged locals to avoid the beaches -- exposed areas that offer no protection from Russian aerial barrages.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
The IDF said two barrages of missiles were detected and intercepted.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
In Obeid, capital of North Kordofan, near-daily drone barrages have imposed a furtive rhythm to residents’ lives, making every trip to the market, school, health clinic or a relative’s home a gamble.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2026
Similarly, Austin grins as Ashley barrages him with her insecurities.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026
The Allies, after much trial and error, learned to use their tanks effectively in coordination with artillery barrages, infantry assaults, and—toward the end of the war—attacks by low-flying aircraft.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
At an annual meeting of financial-aid administrators hosted by the Education Department’s Office of Federal Student Aid earlier this year, people who work in college financial aid barraged government officials with questions about the change.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
Checchi, in particular, barraged voters with an unrelenting flood of ads.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026
United were barraged by jeers from furious fans following the latest miserable result in another troubled season.
From Barron's ● Jan. 11, 2026
In 2002-03, Cheney paid numerous visits to Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Va., and barraged analysts with questions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 19, 2025
As our confusion turned to shock and anger, we barraged the little man with questions.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
But Vancouver limited chances from there while barraging Holmes with shots.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2024
Aymann Ismail knew something was up when his Egyptian mom started barraging him with Piers Morgan clips.
From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2023
Hotels and travel brands also struggle to vet the deluge of travel influencers barraging them with requests for all-expenses-paid vacations in exchange for social media posts.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 13, 2022
People demanding tougher measures are barraging elected officials with phone calls and social-media messages.
From New York Times ● Apr. 3, 2020
Seven and Thorn did as she said, surrounding the Nightbeast as best they could and barraging it with combat spells as fast as they could go.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
