Etymology
Origin of barred
Explanation
Something that is barred prevents your entry. If you are trying to sneak into your friend's house, avoid the barred windows. To be barred is to be blocked from entrance or not allowed to do something — as if there were imaginary bars in your path. The adjective barred comes from the noun bar, and it's easy to remember if you picture the classic barred cell where inmates are confined. Barred can also describe something that is marked with bars, like a barred owl.
Vocabulary lists containing barred
The Voice That Challenged a Nation
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RBG's Brave & Brilliant Women
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Kareem Between
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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.
Under the changes, users who do not complete an age check will be restricted to children's content and barred from communication on the platform.
From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026
Incumbent Jose Maria Balcazar, interim president for less than two months, is barred from running.
From Barron's • Apr. 12, 2026
Foulkes will now be placed on the national barred list, preventing him from working in policing in the future.
From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026
Kanye West has been barred from entering the U.K. following a backlash over a planned performance by the rapper at a London music festival, according to event organizers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026
Late spring sunlight shone through the breaks in the masonry and through the barred door, shocking in its brightness, and Scarlett blinked and covered her eyes at the suddenness of the glare.
From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman
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.
