unbar
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to take away a bar or bars from
-
to unfasten bars, locks, etc, from (a door); open
Etymology
Origin of unbar
First recorded in 1300–50, unbar is from the Middle English word unbarren. See un- 2, bar 1
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.
Claudius has made himself a monarch again, standing at the head of a shrieking horde of desperate peasantry who believe he can unbar the door to that heavenly place.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025
I cried, “why did you unbar the door?”
From The Little Minister by Barrie, J. M. (James Matthew)
“Why, if this fate my country waits, should war, “And not my love unbar to him the gates?
From The Metamorphoses of Publius Ovidus Naso in English blank verse Vols. I & II by Howard, J. J.
Still he began to unbar, though grudgingly, and in half a minute we had the door loose.
From The Red Cockade by Weyman, Stanley John
The turnkey on duty that night went with the carriage to unbar the outer gate for it to pass.
From Tried for Her Life A Sequel to "Cruel As the Grave" by Southworth, Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte
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.
