barbed wire

American  

noun

1. a wire or strand of wires having small pieces of sharply pointed wire twisted around it at short intervals, used chiefly for fencing in livestock, keeping out trespassers, etc.

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barbed wire British  

noun

1. Also called (US): barbwire.  strong wire with sharply pointed barbs at close intervals

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Etymology

Origin of barbed wire

First recorded in 1860–65

Compare meaning

How does barbed-wire compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• razor wire vs. barbed wire

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

barbed wire

AFP journalists saw long lines of police wagons, horse patrols, barbed wire around government buildings, and large numbers of plainclothes officers.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

As protests spread to the capital Tirana, the barbed wire and construction vehicles disappeared, but the demonstrators' demands have crystallised.

From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026

Surveillance camera footage captured Mott scaling an 8-foot fence topped with barbed wire at the perimeter of the airport in just 15 seconds, then walking across the runway.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026

The group - consisting of about eight to ten tourists - reached the ground and made their way to the edge of the site, which was surrounded by a barbed wire fence.

From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026

Two men hold a roll and the others spool off the barbed wire.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

Related Words

• fence
• fencing