barred
Americanadjective
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provided with one or more bars.
a barred prison window.
-
striped; streaked.
barred fabrics.
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Ornithology. (of feathers) marked with transverse bands of distinctive color.
Etymology
Origin of barred
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at bar 1, -ed 3
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.
But she acknowledges that being barred from running would "undoubtedly be painful".
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Rodriguez, who has expressed some interest in the proposal, said city leaders had not determined how county election officials would issue separate ballots for voters who would be barred from state and national contests.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
Patrick Harker, who said he was barred from such events in his decade leading the Philadelphia Fed, wrote last month that the episode “deserves a serious, transparent answer from the institution.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
The court reached this decision even though these types of claims have been historically barred because of a foreign country’s sovereign immunity.
From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026
The State of Alabama had argued that procedural rules barred Mr. Nelson from challenging the constitutionality of the protocol.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
