unbar
Americanverb (used with object)
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unbars,
present (3rd person singular)
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unbarred,
past participle, past
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unbarring
present participle
verb
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to take away a bar or bars from
-
to unfasten bars, locks, etc, from (a door); open
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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unbarsimple
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unbarssimple
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have unbarredperfect
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has unbarredperfect
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am unbarringprogressive
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are unbarringprogressive
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is unbarringprogressive
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have been unbarringperfect progressive
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has been unbarringperfect progressive
Past
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unbarredsimple
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had unbarredperfect
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was unbarringprogressive
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were unbarringprogressive
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had been unbarringperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
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 Poems of James Russell Lowell With biographical sketch by Nathan Haskell Dole by James Russell Lowell
These flowers of June The gates of memory unbar; These flowers of June Such old-time harmonies retune, I fain would keep the gates ajar, So full of sweet enchantment are These flowers of June.
From The Melody of Earth An Anthology of Garden and Nature Poems From Present-Day Poets by Various
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 Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth
Teach, first thyself, and then thy brethren, that Usefulness, Love, Labor, Forgiveness, Faith and Charity, are the only keys which are potent to cure all ill, and unbar the Gates of Glory.'
From Tom Clark and His Wife Their Double Dreams, And the Curious Things that Befell Them Therein; Being the Rosicrucian's Story by Paschal Beverly Randolph
The book’s final moments are breathless, if suspiciously flimsy—it isn’t until the very last sentence that Monk unbars “the great gate” and is freed.
From Slate ● Mar. 22, 2017
Will the sun forget to streak Eastern skies with amber ray, When the dusky shades to break He unbars the gates of day?
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
It was not in such a fashion that I had thought to see my mission to Canaples accomplished; I had dreamt of gratitude, and gratitude unbars the door to much.
From The Suitors of Yvonne: being a portion of the memoirs of the Sieur Gaston de Luynes by Rafael Sabatini
For as a gate of sorrow-land unbars The region of unfaltering delight, So may you gather from the fields of night That harvest of diviner thought, the stars.
From The Diwan of Abu'l-Ala by Henry Baerlein
Soon as to Ilion's topmost tower they come, And awful reach the high Palladian dome, Antenor's consort, fair Theano, waits As Pallas' priestess, and unbars the gates.
From The Iliad by Alexander Pope
As a result, its classification was changed from unbarred spiral galaxy to barred spiral galaxy.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2022
Eventually, we decided that my father would not recover, and so, instead of continuing to try to stave off death, we unbarred the door and began to wait.
From The New Yorker ● Feb. 5, 2017
In both barred and unbarred spiral galaxies, we observe a range of different shapes.
From Textbooks ● Oct. 13, 2016
Handel’s vocal writing can be fiercely demanding, nowhere more so than in the Angel’s opening aria, “Be unbarred, ye gates of Avernus,” in which Liv Redpath, a soprano, displayed lovely tone and fine agility.
From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2014
The fetters would not keep fastened; the doors unbarred themselves.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Knees, shoulders, elbows, buttocks and teeth collide with one another, fleetingly unbarring a glimpse into deeper space before they slide closed again.
From Slate ● Sep. 25, 2011
At last, he remained somewhat longer at the gate, and bent his head more cautiously to hear; then, noiselessly unbarring and unlocking the door, he leaned out.
From The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. I (of II) by Charles James Lever
We hear the unbarring of the house door, and a comely maiden, in her Sunday dress, welcomes us politely to her ground-floor sitting-room.
From Sketches and Studies in Italy and Greece, First Series by Horatio Robert Forbes Brown
They got enough, however, to realise that he demanded the unbarring of the door, and that he both threatened and promised protection to whoever was within.
From The Strange Case of Cavendish by Randall Parrish
He had some difficulty in unbarring the door, but succeeded after many endeavours.
From A Little Hero by Mrs. H. Musgrave
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