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
What humble hands unbar those gates of morn Through which the splendors of the new day burst.
From Christopher Columbus and His Monument Columbia being a concordance of choice tributes to the great Genoese, his grand discovery, and his greatness of mind and purpose by Dickey, J. M. (John Marcus)
Mother rose quickly to her feet; kissed me fervently, and then, without delay, as if understanding that it was not well to prolong the parting, began to unbar the shutter.
From On the Kentucky Frontier A Story of the Fighting Pioneers of the West by Otis, James
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
I cried, “why did you unbar the door?”
From The Little Minister by Barrie, J. M. (James Matthew)
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.
