US /bɑɹ/ UK /bɑː/
noun verb Freq #875

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    A place where you can buy and drink alcoholic drinks.

    We met some friends at the bar after work.

  2. 2
    noun

    A block of a solid substance, such as chocolate or soap.

    He ate a whole bar of chocolate by himself.

  3. 3
    verb

    To stop someone from entering a place or doing something.

    The guard barred us from entering the building.

  4. 4
    noun

    A long, narrow piece of metal or wood.

    There were iron bars across the prison window.

  5. 5
    noun

    The profession of lawyers, or all the lawyers allowed to work in a region.

    She passed her exams and was admitted to the bar last year.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · a place where you can buy... barroomsaloontaproom
2 noun · a block of a solid... cake
3 verb · to stop someone from... blockexcludekeep out
5 noun · the profession of lawyers,... legal profession
Word family
Forms barredbarsunbarred
Derived forms barrableoutbarunbar

Common collocations

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.

View etymology graph ->

Topics

markdown

Send feedback

Optional — only if you'd like a reply.