barred
Americanadjective
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provided with one or more bars.
a barred prison window.
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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.
And he barred the hospital from “aiding and abetting” any other party that might ask for help from these courts, including the children whose rights will be trampled by disclosure of their records.
From Slate • May 19, 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
He was barred by the constitution from seeking a second consecutive term.
From Barron's • May 8, 2026
Meanwhile, the court commissioner presiding over the recent hearing reversed a bail provision that had barred him from Dane County, except to appear in court.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
From Good Friday to Easter, my parents had kept us inside, with the curtains drawn and the door barred.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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.
