unbar
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
-
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
You practical English!—will you ever unbar the shutters of your brains, and hang a picture or two in those state-chambers?
From Time and Tide by Weare and Tyne Twenty-five Letters to a Working Man of Sunderland on the Laws of Work by Ruskin, John
She would have returned from her campaign with her baggage-train and her loot, and the palace would unbar its shutters and the morning flash back from its halls.
From The Spoils of Poynton by James, Henry
He didn’t look as if the task were an agreeable one and the lads placed themselves beside him as he advanced and with trembling hands tried to unbar the door.
From Dorothy's House Party by Raymond, Evelyn
That one, instead of standing his ground, was seeking to reach and unbar the corridor door.
From Warrior of the Dawn by Browne, Howard
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.
