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)
-
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
-
am barrellingprogressive
-
are barrelingprogressive
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are barrellingprogressive
-
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
-
was barrellingprogressive
-
were barrelingprogressive
-
were barrellingprogressive
-
had been barrelingperfect progressive
-
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:
The drop in sales was driven by a sharp decline in Germany and came as global oil prices rose above $100 a barrel in September.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
The decline in sales came as global oil prices surged back above $100 a barrel in September, with escalating conflict in the Middle East raising concern over supply disruptions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
The war has lasted for 9 months, and led to oil prices used in the forecast averaging $108 a barrel.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, fell 0.3% to $87.84 a barrel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
Strange smells wafted in the air around them as the Witchlings peered around the brick building and saw Mr. Dimblewit pulling something from a barrel.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
The bank also estimated that global oil demand had declined by 3.3 million barrels a day since the conflict began, reflecting the impact of higher fuel prices and supply disruptions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
The government has sought to appease public anger over rising prices, bringing down the cost of fuel by releasing 10 million barrels of diesel from strategic reserves.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Middle Eastern oil exports recovered to around 20.7 million barrels a day in October from a low of 9.8 million barrels a day in March, although shipments remained below prewar levels, JPMorgan said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
The government said the move could produce about 60 million barrels of oil and support hundreds of jobs.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
I wish for the wind to shift, to pull the fresh ocean air inland, instead of wafting the smell of rotting fish from the barrels down the ramp over me.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
The eye of the storm barreled over the peninsular fishing village of Las Barrancas, which was largely unreachable after a swollen river caused a highway bridge to collapse.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
“Overall, I thought we had some good at-bats and barreled up some balls,” Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker said after a 4-1 loss.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
But the aircraft leasing firms that own dozens of its bright yellow jets were getting anxious as Spirit barreled toward liquidation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
Eastern time Sunday as a winter storm barreled across the Midwest.
From Barron's ● Mar. 15, 2026
I trailed along behind her as she barreled straight to the patient’s house, on a mission.
From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau
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 American had the crowd on his side but Zverev's serve was unrelenting and he barrelled into a 5-1 lead in the third set.
From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026
The fierce winds and storm surge that barrelled through here have decimated nearly everything, leaving roads unusable and a trail of destruction that has them increasingly desperate and isolated with no electricity or running water.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2025
Will Smith barrelled up a splitter Gausman left just high enough to trade places with Edman on an RBI double to left.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 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
The truck was filmed barreling along a narrow highway cutting through the Utah desert.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026
That sentiment was particularly pronounced in tech, where companies are barreling ahead with a gargantuan artificial-intelligence build-out despite concerns about the costs — and the occasional rogue AI agent.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 11, 2026
The world’s largest wildlife crossing over the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills is barreling toward a Dec. 2 completion date.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
When Ritchson isn’t barreling through that summertime face-punching tour, he fronts pleasing if unchallenging straight-to-streaming romps like “Playdate” and “War Machine.”
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026
It was barreling straight toward them at a rate of three miles an hour.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
That score lit a fire in the Springboks, with Kolbe kicking a penalty and Damian de Allende barrelling over after another imposing maul as South Africa showed far more ruthlessness compared to a week ago.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
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
Some rushing made sense — deadlines, the Red Line train barrelling toward the platform — but other times, it was just habit.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2025
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
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
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