Etymology From Middle English barre, from Old French barre (“beam, bar, gate, barrier”), from Vulgar Latin *barra, of uncertain origin. Doublet of barre.
A solid, more or less rigid object of metal or wood with a uniform cross-section smaller than its length.
The window was protected by steel bars.
2
Engineering, Metallurgy, Natural sciences, Physical sciences A solid metal object with uniform (round, square, hexagonal, octagonal or rectangular) cross-section; in the US its smallest dimension is ¹⁄₄ inch or greater, a piece of thinner material being called a strip.
Ancient Sparta used iron bars instead of handy coins in more valuable alloy, to physically discourage the use of money.
We are expecting a carload of bar tomorrow.
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A cuboid piece of any solid commodity.
bar of chocolate
bar of soap
4
A broad shaft, band, or stripe.
a bar of light
a bar of colour
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A long, narrow drawn or printed rectangle, cuboid or cylinder, especially as used in a bar code or a bar chart.
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Media, Publishing, Typography Any of various lines used as punctuation or diacritics, such as the pipe ⟨|⟩, fraction bar (as in 12), and strikethrough (as in Ⱥ), formerly (obsolete) including oblique marks such as the slash.
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Mathematics, Sciences The sign indicating that the characteristic of a logarithm is negative, conventionally placed above the digit(s) to show that it applies to the characteristic only and not to the mantissa.
8
Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics A similar sign indicating that the charge on a particle is the negative of its usual value (and that consequently the particle is in fact an antiparticle).
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A business selling alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises, or the premises themselves; a public house.
The street was lined with all-night bars.
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The counter of such premises.
Step up to the bar and order a drink.
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A counter, or simply a cabinet, from which alcoholic drinks are served in a private house or a hotel room.
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Broadly, In compounds Premises or a counter serving any type of beverage.
a coffee bar
a juice bar
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An informal establishment selling food to be consumed on the premises.
a burger bar
a local fish bar
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An establishment offering cosmetic services.
a nail bar
a brow bar
15
An official order or pronouncement that prohibits some activity.
The club has lifted its bar on women members.
The Chief Medical Officer of London Transport believes that public opinion against smoking will harden to the point of a total bar on the Underground, as in other countries.1959 May 23, “Accommodation for Non-Smokers”, in Railway Magazine, pages 295-296:
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Anything that obstructs, hinders, or prevents; an obstruction; a barrier.
Muſt I new bars to my own joy create?1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe: A Tragedy. […], London: […] T[homas] N[ewcomb] for Henry Herringman, […], published 1676, →OCLC, Act V, page 83:
Sexual preference or orientation shall not be a bar to becoming a foster parent.1987 February 1, Nancy A. Coleman, “Foster Care: Case By Case Basis”, in Gay Community News, volume 14, number 28, page 5:
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Mr Harding could look back on his initial judgement of Paul's talent with great satisfaction while Paul could reflect that to be Irish was not necessarily a bar to progress.2013, Terence Dillon, A Long Way Home, page 184:
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Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Programming, SciencesDerived, From fubar A metasyntactic variable representing an unspecified entity, often the second in a series, following foo.
Suppose we have four objects, foo, bar, baz and quux.
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UK A dividing line (physical or notional) in the chamber of a legislature beyond which only members and officials may pass.
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LawUK The railing surrounding the part of a courtroom in which the judges, lawyers, defendants and witnesses stay.
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LawPhilippines, US, Usually, With the The bar exam, the legal licensing exam.
He's studying hard to pass the Bar this time; he's failed it twice before.
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LawMetonymically Collectively, lawyers or the legal profession; specifically applied to barristers in some countries, but including all lawyers in others.
Entertainment, Lifestyle, MusicBroadly, In plural, Slang Something well-said or well-written.
His musical journey, and this is a quote, is “a constant push and pull between self awareness and delusion”. That’s bars right there to be honest.2025 June 13, “Matt Miggz: Drums, Delusion, and Staying True”, in WAVS BLOG:
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Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports A horizontal pole that must be crossed in the high jump and pole vault.
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Figuratively Any level of achievement regarded as a challenge to be overcome; a standard or expectation.
to set the bar high/low
to raise the bar
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[…] there’s no World War III now, but in the words of the prominent Never Trumper and Atlantic contributor Eliot Cohen, “that’s a pretty low bar.”2020 March 10, Kathy Gilsinan, quoting Eliot Cohen, “Confessions of an Ex–Never Trumper”, in The Atlantic:
Composed play then saw Sam Ricketts nutmeg Ashley Cole before Taylor whipped a fine curling effort over Petr Cech's bar.2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC:
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Backgammon, Games The central divider between the inner and outer table of a backgammon board, where stones are placed if they are hit.
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An addition to a military medal, on account of a subsequent act.
Geography, Hydrology, Natural sciences, Nautical, Transport A linear shoaling landform feature within a body of water; a formation extending across the mouth of a river or harbor or off a beach, and which may obstruct navigation. (FM 55-501).
Travellers change at Batoum into a steamer which performs the service between that port and Poti, and which has a less draught of water to enable it to cross the bar of the river Rion.1868, “Route 20: London to Tiflis […] ”, in Handbook for Travellers in Russia, Poland, and Finland, 2nd edition, London: John Murray, page 320:
Architecture A gatehouse of a castle or fortified town.
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Farriery, Hobbies, Horses, Lifestyle, Pets, Sports The part of the crust of a horse's hoof which is bent inwards towards the frog at the heel on each side, and extends into the centre of the sole.
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Farriery, Hobbies, Horses, Lifestyle, Pets, SportsIn plural The space between the tusks and grinders in the upper jaw of a horse, in which the bit is placed.
Tell Sick Boy tae gie us a bell if ye see um. The bastard owes us twenty fuckin bar.1994 [1993], Irvine Welsh, “The First Shag in Ages”, in Trainspotting, London: Minerva, →ISBN, page 151:
41
A small, tablet-shaped dose of Xanax, typically containing two milligrams and able to be split into quarters.
Etymology From Middle English barren, from Old French barrer, from Medieval Latin barrare (“to bar”), from the noun. Cognate to Occitan barrar, Spanish barrar, Portuguese barrar. Preposition properly imperative of the verb. Compare barring.
1
To obstruct the passage of (someone or something).
Our way was barred by a huge rockfall.
'One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize to-night, / But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light; / Yet, if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day, / Then look for me by moonlight, / Watch for me by moonlight, / I'll come to thee by moonlight, though Hell should bar the way.'1906 August, Alfred Noyes, “The Highwayman”, in Poems, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., published October 1906, →OCLC, part 1, stanza V, page 47:
2
To prohibit.
I couldn't get into the nightclub because I had been barred.
3
To lock or bolt with a bar.
to bar the door
4
To imprint or paint with bars, to stripe.
I lived in a hut in the yard. To be out of the chaos I would sometimes get into the accountant’s office. It was built of horizontal planks, and so badly put together that, as he bent over his high desk, he was barred from neck to heels with narrow strips of sunlight.1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 208, column 1:
Etymology From Middle English barren, from Old French barrer, from Medieval Latin barrare (“to bar”), from the noun. Cognate to Occitan barrar, Spanish barrar, Portuguese barrar. Preposition properly imperative of the verb. Compare barring.
1
Except, other than, besides.
He invited everyone to his wedding bar his ex-wife.
"I might be a fool," the younger man admitted quietly, "even an idiot, but there's not a person living, bar you, who possess the courage to call me a weakling, Sir."1936, F.J. Thwaites, chapter I, in The Redemption, Sydney: H. John Edwards, page 5:
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These see the overhead wires installed on all bar the slow lines between Bedford and Wellingborough by next May, with the remaining section completed by August, when the full programme is due to be completed.2019 October, Philip Sherratt, “Midland Main Line upgrade presses on”, in Modern Railways, page 62:
Etymology From Middle English barren, from Old French barrer, from Medieval Latin barrare (“to bar”), from the noun. Cognate to Occitan barrar, Spanish barrar, Portuguese barrar. Preposition properly imperative of the verb. Compare barring.