barrel
Americannoun
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barrels
plural
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a cylindrical wooden container with slightly bulging sides made of staves hooped together, and with flat, parallel ends.
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the quantity that such a vessel of some standard size can hold: for most liquids, 31½ U.S. gallons (119 L); for petroleum, 42 U.S. gallons (159 L); for dry materials, 105 U.S. dry quarts (115 L). bbl
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any large quantity.
a barrel of fun.
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any container, case, or part similar to a wooden barrel in form.
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Ordnance. the tube of a gun.
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Machinery. the chamber of a pump in which the piston works.
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a drum turning on a shaft, as in a weight-driven clock.
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Horology. the cylindrical case in a watch or clock within which the mainspring is coiled.
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Ornithology Obsolete. a calamus or quill.
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the trunk of a quadruped, especially of a horse, cow, etc.
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Nautical. the main portion of a capstan, about which the rope winds, between the drumhead at the top and the pawl rim at the bottom.
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a rotating horizontal cylinder in which manufactured objects are coated or polished by tumbling in a suitable substance.
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any structure having the form of a barrel vault.
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Also called throat. Automotive. a passageway in a carburetor that has the shape of a Venturi tube.
verb (used with object)
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barrels,
present (3rd person singular)
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barreled,
past participle, past
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barrelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
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barreling,
present participle
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barrelling
present participle (especially British)
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to put or pack in a barrel or barrels.
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to finish (metal parts) by tumbling in a barrel.
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Informal. to force to go or proceed at high speed.
He barreled his car through the dense traffic.
verb (used without object)
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barrels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
barreled,
past participle, past
-
barrelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
barreling,
present participle
-
barrelling
present participle (especially British)
idioms
noun
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a cylindrical container usually bulging outwards in the middle and held together by metal hoops; cask
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Also called: barrelful. the amount that a barrel can hold
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a unit of capacity used in brewing, equal to 36 Imperial gallons
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a unit of capacity used in the oil and other industries, normally equal to 42 US gallons or 35 Imperial gallons
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a thing or part shaped like a barrel, esp a tubular part of a machine
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the tube through which the projectile of a firearm is discharged
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horology the cylindrical drum in a watch or clock that is rotated by the mainspring
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the trunk of a four-legged animal
the barrel of a horse
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the quill of a feather
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informal a large measure; a great deal (esp in the phrases barrel of fun, barrel of laughs )
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informal the hollow inner side of a wave
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informal powerless
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informal to be forced to use one's last and weakest resource
verb
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(tr) to put into a barrel or barrels
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informal (intr; foll by along, in, etc) (intr) to travel or move very fast
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informal to ride on the inside of a wave
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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barrelsimple
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barrelssimple
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have barreledperfect
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have barrelledperfect
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has barreledperfect
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has barrelledperfect
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am barrelingprogressive
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am barrellingprogressive
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are barrelingprogressive
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are barrellingprogressive
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is barrelingprogressive
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is barrellingprogressive
-
have been barrelingperfect progressive
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have been barrellingperfect progressive
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has been barrelingperfect progressive
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has been barrellingperfect progressive
Past
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barreledsimple
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barrelledsimple
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had barreledperfect
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had barrelledperfect
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was barrelingprogressive
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was barrellingprogressive
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were barrelingprogressive
-
were barrellingprogressive
-
had been barrelingperfect progressive
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had been barrellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of barrel
1250–1300; Middle English barell < Anglo-French baril, Old French barril < Vulgar Latin *barrīculum, equivalent to *barrīc ( a ), perhaps derivative of Late Latin barra bar 1 + Latin -ulum -ule; compare Medieval Latin (circa 800) barriclus small cask
Explanation
A barrel is a big container used to store liquids. If you're moving a barrel, it's best to tip it on its side because its shape bulges at the center, so that it's easy to roll. Barrels hold liquid in them — anything from wine to beer to oil. A barrel can also be the tube in a gun that a bullet travels through. You might hear the expression "stare down the barrel of a gun," which means you're looking at a gun pointed right at your face. A barrel is also used as a unit of measure or to refer to a large unit of measure. When someone says they are having "barrels of fun," they're having a really great time.
Vocabulary lists containing barrel
Out of the Dust
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"After Apple-Picking" by Robert Frost
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I Survived the Children's Blizzard, 1888
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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.
See Examples For:
—In early trading, Brent crude rose 0.9% to $83.27 a barrel, while WTI futures are up 0.6% to $77.79 a barrel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
And there, tucked away in a corner and covered by a baby changing mat, was a blue barrel.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Brent crude oil held below $80 a barrel, while U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
That’s more than double what companies expected when prices were $60 per barrel before the war.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
I lower my shoulder, shoot through the force field, and barrel into the creature with all my body’s strength— just as Dad taught me when he tried and failed to teach me football.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Beach is targeting output of between 19.5 million and 23.0 million barrels of oil equivalent in FY 2027.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Commercial crude oil stockpiles were up by 2.5 million barrels in the week ended July 31.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Inventories were expected to have fallen by 1.2 million barrels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Production for the second quarter was 2.25 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, a decrease of 143,000 barrels from the same period the year before.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
“I was on my way to get the other Zetas. I ran into Nyla. She asked if I’d seen you near the stasis gel barrels in the hold.”
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
Eastern time Sunday as a winter storm barreled across the Midwest.
From Barron's ● Mar. 15, 2026
She was cut off when a giant inflatable baby barreled into them.
From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2025
He’d barreled over wet cobbles past shivering farmers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
Until “Vagrants,” the drama’s fifth episode, Pelphrey and Ruffalo hadn’t shared a scene together; Tom and Robbie barreled along parallel tracks destined to cross.
From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2025
His feet seemed to move of their own accord, pivoting him left as Shomari barreled forward and missed him like a charging bull.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
Police are investigating a dramatic crash Tuesday where an SUV drove onto the sidewalk and barrelled into a vendor in downtown Los Angeles’ flower district, injuring six people.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2026
The incident came as a dangerous winter storm barrelled across a large swathe of the US, killing several people and leaving hundreds of thousands without power.
From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2026
Red-hot teenager Iva Jovic barrelled into her first Grand Slam quarter-final for the loss of just one game on Sunday to set up a blockbuster Australian Open clash with defending champion Aryna Sabalenka.
From Barron's ● Jan. 25, 2026
At least six people have died after a super typhoon barrelled through the Philippines, mere days after an earlier storm left more than 200 people dead.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2025
A dozen centaurs barrelled through the ranks, yelling and waving their clubs, followed by a horde of two-headed men banging on trash-can lids.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
You don’t need to be rich to burn the road behind you to the point of no return, just confident enough to keep barreling forward.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
The virtual reality therapist ‘Xaia’ is an example of how AI technology is barreling its way into the burgeoning digital health sector.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026
In Asia, diesel markets are flashing a warning sign about possible shortages—a harbinger of what could be barreling toward Europe, Noel-Beswick added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
But 14 years later, the league is barreling toward another potential lockout with its game officials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026
Hanako was surprised at how fast the train was barreling down on them.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
And so, on we go, barrelling toward the next general election, which must take place by 2029 but will likely be sooner.
From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2026
It’s not enough to come barrelling into a conversation with a long-winded explanation of your personal dogma; you must also confidently push the value of those ideas, too.
From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2026
Their line-out was a bit of a mess, their handling was suspect at times, but they kept barrelling on.
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2024
Some 80 surfers could work different waves simultaneously: barrelling waves, big waves, kid-friendly waves, Knieriem said.
From Washington Times ● May 29, 2023
The barking dog he’d heard before got louder, and suddenly a white blur came barrelling through the snow.
From "The Marvels" by Brian Selznick
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.
