wire entanglement

American  

noun

1. a barbed-wire obstacle, usually mounted on posts and zigzagged back and forth along a front, designed to channel, delay, or halt an advance by enemy foot soldiers.

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wire entanglement British  

noun

1. a barrier or obstruction of barbed wire used in warfare

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Etymology

Origin of wire entanglement

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

In October 1916, under fierce enemy fire he succeeded in cutting an Austrian barbed wire entanglement and led a storming party to the capture of an important ridge position.

From Time Magazine Archive

That night the Cabinet threw a barbed wire entanglement and a cordon of troops around the Ballhaus, retired within and hammered out a compromise which did all present much credit.

From Time Magazine Archive

Second-Lieutenant Wood and his platoon are erecting a wire entanglement.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, March 22, 1916 by Seaman, Owen, Sir

At the bottom of the ditch is a wire entanglement and the glacis slope is planted with thorns.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 "Foraminifera" to "Fox, Edward" by Various

Jerry surveyed it critically, even stepping back the better to see how the barbed wire entanglement ran along its apex.

From The Outdoor Chums at Cabin Point or The Golden Cup Mystery by Allen, Quincy