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.
Some of Jin’s assets were frozen, and he was barred from leaving China.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
Chinese tech firms are barred from purchasing Nvidia's most cutting-edge chips under US export rules that Washington says are to protect national security.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
As a high-school student, Jasmine Hedrick was barred from visiting the Connecticut Post Mall in Milford after the property’s owner began requiring anyone under 18 to be chaperoned by an adult.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
Last October, patients at another dental clinic in Mortdale - a suburb in southern Sydney - were similarly urged to get tested, with the dentist being barred from practising after breaching infection control standards.
From BBC • May 13, 2026
Employers in a growing number of professions are barred by state licensing agencies from hiring people with a wide range of criminal convictions, even convictions unrelated to the job or license sought.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
