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barrier

[bar-ee-er]
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noun
  1. anything built or serving to bar passage, as a railing, fence, or the like: People may pass through the barrier only when their train is announced.
  2. any natural bar or obstacle: a mountain barrier.
  3. anything that restrains or obstructs progress, access, etc.: a trade barrier.
  4. a limit or boundary of any kind: the barriers of caste.
  5. Physical Geography. an antarctic ice shelf or ice front.
  6. barrier beach.
  7. barriers, History/Historical. the palisade or railing surrounding the ground where tourneys and jousts were carried on.
  8. Archaic. a fortress or stockade.
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Origin of barrier

1275–1325; Middle English < Middle French barriere (barre bar1 + -iere < Latin -āria -ary); replacing Middle English barrere < Anglo-French < Medieval Latin barrera

Synonyms

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1. palisade, wall. 1–3. obstruction, hindrance, impediment.

Synonym study

1–3. See bar1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

fencewalllimitroadblockblockadeobstaclebarricadehurdlerailingimpedimentboundaryrestrictionhandicaprestraintdrawbackdifficultyhindrancemoatbarfortification

Examples from the Web for barriers

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Barriers, moreover, must certainly have been thrown across that street.

  • Already the barriers of custom and common-sense were raising their solid heads.

    The Innocent Adventuress

    Mary Hastings Bradley

  • All barriers were broken down, and she clung to him and cried.

  • She had chafed when the barriers rose between her mind and theirs.

    Audrey Craven

    May Sinclair

  • Hence there should be a free crossing of the barriers in use of materials at all times.

    College Teaching

    Paul Klapper

British Dictionary definitions for barriers

barrier

noun
  1. anything serving to obstruct passage or to maintain separation, such as a fence or gate
  2. anything that prevents or obstructs passage, access, or progressa barrier of distrust
  3. anything that separates or hinders uniona language barrier
    1. an exposed offshore sand bar separated from the shore by a lagoon
    2. (as modifier)a barrier beach
  5. (sometimes capital) that part of the Antarctic icecap extending over the sea
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Word Origin

C14: from Old French barriere, from barre bar 1
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 barriers

barrier

n.

early 14c., barere, from Anglo-French barrere, Old French barriere "obstacle, gatekeeper," from barre "bar" (see bar (n.1)). First record of barrier reef is from 1805.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
barriers in Medicine

barrier

(băr′ē-ər)
n.
  1. A boundary or limit.
  2. An obstacle or impediment.
  3. Something that separates or holds apart.
  4. Something immaterial that obstructs or impedes behavior.
  5. A physical or biological factor that limits the migration, interbreeding, or free movement of individuals or populations.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.