bollard

[ bol-erd ]

/ ˈbɒl ərd /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for bollard on Thesaurus.com

noun

Nautical.

a thick, low post, usually of iron or steel, mounted on a wharf or the like, to which mooring lines from vessels are attached.
a small post to which lines are attached.
bitt (def. 1).

British. one of a series of short posts for excluding or diverting motor vehicles from a road, lawn, or the like.

QUIZ

ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of bollard

First recorded in 1835–45; bole¹ + -ard

Words nearby bollard

Bolivian, boliviano, boll, Bolland, Bollandist, bollard, bollito misto, bollix, bollocking, bollocks, boll weevil

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bollard in a sentence

Thus has been America’s scanned and secured age, two decades in which forests of steel bollards sprouted around every possible target and we removed our shoes, belts and dignity in a frenzy as we tried to protect our nation from outside terrorists.
All this security in D.C. to thwart terrorism, yet the threat came from within|Petula Dvorak|January 11, 2021|Washington Post
Carey veered past a bollard, finally crashing into a barricade not far from a guard booth.
What Pushed Miriam Carey to a Capitol Hill Tragedy?|Michael Daly|October 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Pike was ready in the bow, with an arm tightly embracing the bollard, or strong post, round which the cable runs.
The Floating Light of the Goodwin Sands|R.M. Ballantyne
He was propped against a bollard and he was in his shore-going clothes.
The Beach of Dreams|H. De Vere Stacpoole

They went to another bollard and there, the mariner anchoring himself, she began to talk.
The Beach of Dreams|H. De Vere Stacpoole
And then a man would look to the after line from the ship to the bollard on the wharf, and leaped on the after deck close to me.
A King's Comrade|Charles Whistler
Not knowing the harbour, we had tied up to the first bollard, and gone incontinently to sleep.
A Labrador Doctor|Wilfred Thomason Grenfell

British Dictionary definitions for bollard

bollard

/ (ˈbɒlɑːd, ˈbɒləd) /

noun

a strong wooden or metal post mounted on a wharf, quay, etc, used for securing mooring lines

British a small post or marker placed on a kerb or traffic island to make it conspicuous to motorists

mountaineering an outcrop of rock or pillar of ice that may be used to belay a rope

Word Origin for bollard

C14: perhaps from bole 1 + -ard

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

bollard

Origin of bollard

Words nearby bollard

Words related to bollard

How to use bollard in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bollard

Word Origin for bollard