barre

¹

or bar

[ bahr ]

noun

, Ballet.

1. a handrail placed at hip height, used by a dancer to maintain balance during practice.

barré

²

[ bah-rey ]

noun

1. Textiles. a pattern of stripes or bands of color extending across the warp in woven and knitted fabrics.
2. Textiles. a streak in the filling direction when one or more picks are of a color different from that of adjacent picks.
3. Music. a technique of playing a chord on a stringed instrument by laying a finger across the strings at a particular fret, raising their pitch.

barre

¹

/ bar /

noun

1. a rail at hip height used for ballet practice and leg exercises

barré

²

/ ˈbæreɪ /

noun

1. the act of laying the index finger over some or all of the strings of a guitar, lute, or similar instrument, so that the pitch of each stopped string is simultaneously raised Compare capo 1
2. the playing of chords in this manner

verb

1. to execute (chords) in this manner

adverb

1. by using the barré

Word History and Origins

Origin of barre¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Origin of barre²

< French: literally, barred, past participle of barrer, derivative of barre bar ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of barre¹

literally: bar

Origin of barre²

C19: from French, from barrer bar ¹

Example Sentences

The dancer—and Balanchine's wife and muse—broke barriers for Native Americans at the barre and graced stages all over the world.

From The Daily Beast

In 1999, I was a junior in high school, and a big story in the small town of Barre, Vermont, as a suspected school shooter.

From The Daily Beast

Like with so many “weird kids,” I left most of my nasty cycle behind when I left Barre to go to college.

From The Daily Beast

Its chapter on HPV vaccines examines 13 kinds of reported problems, from multiple sclerosis to Guillain-Barre syndrome.

From The Daily Beast

Colonel Barre, so noted in the British parliament as an opponent to the American war, died.

From Project Gutenberg

They located near one of the forts, upon a spot of ground which is at present covered by the city of Wilkes-Barre.

From Project Gutenberg

Between Barre and Montmorency I met, in a hired carriage, four men in black, who saluted me smilingly.

From Project Gutenberg

There are several good old houses here: but I must content myself with the mention of one only in the Rue de la Barre.

From Project Gutenberg

The last records of conditions in the Wilkes-Barre coal regions confirm the fact of labor scarcity.

From Project Gutenberg