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barred

[bahrd]
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adjective
  1. provided with one or more bars: a barred prison window.
  2. striped; streaked: barred fabrics.
  3. Ornithology. (of feathers) marked with transverse bands of distinctive color.
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Origin of barred

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at bar1, -ed3

bar1

[bahr]
noun
  1. a relatively long, evenly shaped piece of some solid substance, as metal or wood, used as a guard or obstruction or for some mechanical purpose: the bars of a cage.
  2. an oblong piece of any solid material: a bar of soap; a candy bar.
  3. the amount of material in a bar.
  4. an ingot, lump, or wedge of gold or silver.
  5. a long ridge of sand, gravel, or other material near or slightly above the surface of the water at or near the mouth of a river or harbor entrance, often constituting an obstruction to navigation.
  6. anything that obstructs, hinders, or impedes; obstacle; barrier: a bar to important legislation.
  7. a counter or place where beverages, especially liquors, or light meals are served to customers: a snack bar; a milk bar.
  8. a barroom or tavern.
  9. (in a home) a counter, small wagon, or similar piece of furniture for serving food or beverages: a breakfast bar.
  10. the legal profession.
  11. the practicing members of the legal profession in a given community.
  12. any tribunal: the bar of public opinion.
  13. a band or strip: a bar of light.
  14. a railing in a courtroom separating the general public from the part of the room occupied by the judges, jury, attorneys, etc.
  15. a crowbar.
  16. Music.
    1. Also called bar line.the line marking the division between two measures of music.
    2. double bar.
    3. the unit of music contained between two bar lines; measure.
  17. Ballet. barre.
  18. Law.
    1. an objection that nullifies an action or claim.
    2. a stoppage or defeat of an alleged right of action.
  19. Typography. a horizontal stroke of a type character, as of an A, H, t, and sometimes e.
  20. Architecture. (in tracery) a relatively long and slender upright of stone treated as a colonette or molded.
  21. Building Trades.
    1. an iron or steel shape: I-bar.
    2. a muntin.
  22. Military. one of a pair of metal or cloth insignia worn by certain commissioned officers.
  23. bars, the transverse ridges on the roof of the mouth of a horse.
  24. a space between the molar and canine teeth of a horse into which the bit is fitted.
  25. (in a bridle) the mouthpiece connecting the cheeks.
  26. bride2(def 1).
  27. Heraldry. a horizontal band, narrower than a fess, that crosses the field of an escutcheon.
  28. Obsolete. a gateway capable of being barred.
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verb (used with object), barred, bar·ring.
  1. to equip or fasten with a bar or bars: Bar the door before retiring for the night.
  2. to block by or as if by bars: The police barred the exits in an attempt to prevent the thief's escape.
  3. to prevent or hinder: They barred her entrance to the club.
  4. to exclude or except: He was barred from membership because of his reputation.
  5. to mark with bars,ŋ stripes, or bands.
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preposition
  1. except; omitting; but: bar none.
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Idioms
  1. at bar, Law.
    1. before the court and being tried: a case at bar.
    2. before all the judges of a court: a trial at bar.
  2. behind bars, in jail: We wanted the criminal behind bars.
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Origin of bar1

1175–1225; Middle English barre < Old French < Vulgar Latin *barra rod, of obscure, perhaps of pre-Latin orig.
Related formsbar·less, adjectivebar·ra·ble, adjectiveun·bar·ra·ble, adjective

Synonyms

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1. rod, pole. 5. shoal, reef, bank, sand bar. 6. deterrent, stop. 7. saloon, café; cocktail lounge. 30, 31. obstruct, deter, impede, barricade. 32. eliminate.

Synonym study

6. Bar, barrier, barricade mean something put in the way of advance. Bar has the general meaning of hindrance or obstruction: a bar across the doorway. Barrier suggests an impediment to progress or a defensive obstruction (natural or artificial): a trade barrier; a mountain barrier; a road barrier. A barricade is especially a pile of articles hastily gathered or a rude earthwork for protection in street fighting: a barricade of wooden boxes.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

blockhinderpreventdiscouragesuspenddenyforbidprecludeenjoinstoprefuserestrainsegregatelimiteliminaterejectbanexcludedisallowoutlaw

Examples from the Web for barred

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • But, with a movement of great swiftness, Garson got in front of her, and barred her going.

    Within the Law

    Marvin Dana

  • It was like the other cages, with barred walls and sheet-iron floors.

    The Underdog

    F. Hopkinson Smith

  • And stretching forth his arm, he barred the path with his mighty spear.

  • See that all doors are barred so that we may sleep without fear of Spanish thieves.

    Fair Margaret

    H. Rider Haggard

  • It was closed, barred, and curtained, just as it had been overnight.

    Casanova's Homecoming

    Arthur Schnitzler

British Dictionary definitions for barred

BAR

abbreviation for
  1. Browning Automatic Rifle
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Bar

noun the Bar
  1. (in England and elsewhere) barristers collectively
  2. US the legal profession collectively
  3. be called to the Bar British to become a barrister
  4. be called within the Bar British to be appointed as a Queen's Counsel
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bar1

noun
  1. a rigid usually straight length of metal, wood, etc, that is longer than it is wide or thick, used esp as a barrier or as a structural or mechanical parta bar of a gate
  2. a solid usually rectangular block of any materiala bar of soap
  3. anything that obstructs or prevents
    1. an offshore ridge of sand, mud, or shingle lying near the shore and parallel to it, across the mouth of a river, bay, or harbour, or linking an island to the mainland
    2. US and Canadianan alluvial deposit in a stream, river, or lake
  5. a counter or room where alcoholic drinks are served
  6. a counter, room, or establishment where a particular range of goods, food, services, etc, are solda coffee bar; a heel bar
  7. a narrow band or stripe, as of colour or light
  8. a heating element in an electric fire
  9. (in England) the area in a court of law separating the part reserved for the bench and Queen's Counsel from the area occupied by junior barristers, solicitors, and the general publicSee also Bar
  10. the place in a court of law where the accused stands during his trialthe prisoner at the bar
  11. a particular court of law
  12. British (in the House of Lords and House of Commons) the boundary where nonmembers wishing to address either House appear and where persons are arraigned
  13. a plea showing that a plaintiff has no cause of action, as when the case has already been adjudicated upon or the time allowed for bringing the action has passed
  14. anything referred to as an authority or tribunalthe bar of decency
  15. Also called: measure music
    1. a group of beats that is repeated with a consistent rhythm throughout a piece or passage of music. The number of beats in the bar is indicated by the time signature
    2. another word for bar line
    1. Britishinsignia added to a decoration indicating a second award
    2. USa strip of metal worn with uniform, esp to signify rank or as an award for service
  17. a variant spelling of barre
  18. sport See crossbar
  19. gymnastics See horizontal bar
    1. part of the metal mouthpiece of a horse's bridle
    2. the space between the horse's teeth in which such a part fits
  21. either of two horny extensions that project forwards and inwards from the rear of the outer layer of a horse's hoof
  22. See crowbar, glazing-bar
  23. lacemaking needlework another name for bride 2
  24. heraldry an ordinary consisting of a horizontal line across a shield, typically narrower than a fesse, and usually appearing in twos or threes
  25. maths a superscript line ⁻ placed over a letter symbol to indicate, for example, a mean value or the complex conjugate of a complex number
  26. behind bars in prison
  27. won't have a bar of or wouldn't have a bar of Australian and NZ informal cannot tolerate; dislike
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verb bars, barring or barred (tr)
  1. to fasten or secure with a barto bar the door
  2. to shut in or out with or as if with barriersto bar the entrances
  3. to obstruct; hinderthe fallen tree barred the road
  4. (usually foll by from) to prohibit; forbidto bar a couple from meeting
  5. (usually foll by from) to keep out; excludeto bar a person from membership
  6. to mark with a bar or bars
  7. law to prevent or halt (an action) by showing that the claimant has no cause
  8. to mark off (music) into bars with bar lines
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preposition
  1. except forthe best recital bar last night's
  2. bar none without exception
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Word Origin

C12: from Old French barre, from Vulgar Latin barra (unattested) bar, rod, of unknown origin

bar2

noun
  1. a cgs unit of pressure equal to 10 6 dynes per square centimetre. 1 bar is equivalent to 10 5 newtons per square metre
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Word Origin

C20: from Greek baros weight

bar3

noun
  1. immunity from being caught or otherwise penalized in a game
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interjection
  1. a cry for such immunity
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Word Origin

variant of barley ²
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for barred

bar

n.4

unit of pressure, coined 1903 from Greek baros "weight," from barys "heavy" (see grave (adj.)).

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bar

v.

c.1300, "to fasten (a gate, etc.) with a bar," from bar (n.1); sense of "to obstruct, prevent" is recorded by 1570s. Expression bar none "without exception" is recorded from 1866.

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bar

n.1

late 12c., "stake or rod of iron used to fasten a door or gate," from Old French barre (12c.) "beam, bar, gate, barrier," from Vulgar Latin *barra "bar, barrier," which some suggest is from Gaulish *barros "the bushy end" [Gamillscheg], but OED regards this as "discredited" because it "in no way suits the sense." Of soap, by 1833; of candy, by 1906 (the process itself dates to the 1840s). Meaning "bank of sand across a harbor or river mouth" is from 1580s, probably so called because it was an obstruction to navigation. Bar graph is attested from 1925. Bar code first recorded 1963. Behind bars "in prison" is attested by 1934, U.S.

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bar

n.2

"tavern," 1590s, so called in reference to the bars of the barrier or counter over which drinks or food were served to customers (see bar (n.1)).

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bar

n.3

"whole body of lawyers, the legal profession," 1550s, a sense which derives ultimately from the railing that separated benchers from the hall in the Inns of Court. Students who had attained a certain standing were "called" to it to take part in the important exercises of the house. After c.1600, however, this was popularly assumed to mean the bar in a courtroom, which was the wooden railing marking off the area around the judge's seat, where prisoners stood for arraignment and where a barrister (q.v.) stood to plead. As the place where the business of court was done, bar in this sense had become synonymous with "court" by early 14c.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
barred in Medicine

bar

(bär)
n.
  1. The international unit of pressure equal to 1 megadyne (106 dyne) per square centimeter or 0.987 atmosphere.
  2. A metal segment of greater length than width which serves to connect two or more parts of a removable partial denture.
  3. A segment of tissue or a tight cellular junction that serves to constrict the passage of fluid, usually urine.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
barred in Science

bar

[bär]
  1. A unit used to measure atmospheric pressure. It is equal to a force of 100,000 newtons per square meter of surface area, or 0.987 atmosphere.
  2. An elongated, offshore ridge of sand, gravel, or other unconsolidated sediment, formed by the action of waves or long-shore currents and submerged at least during high tide. Bars are especially common near the mouths of rivers or estuaries.
  3. A ridgelike mound of sand, gravel or silt formed within a stream, along its banks, or at its mouth. Bars form where the stream's current slows down, causing sediment to be deposited.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Idioms and Phrases with barred

bar

In addition to the idiom beginning with bar

  • bare bones
  • bare hands, with one's
  • bare necessities
  • bare one's soul
  • bare one's teeth
  • barge in
  • bar none

also see:

  • behind bars
  • no holds barred
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.