barrage

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /bəˈrɑʒ/ UK /ˈbærɑːʒ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a concentrated outpouring of artillery fire or, figuratively, of questions

Reporters met the minister with a barrage of questions.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a concentrated outpouring... bombardment onslaught volley salvo cannonade torrent deluge

Word family

Related forms barrerbar

Etymology

From French barrage ('barrier, dam'), from barrer ('to bar, obstruct'), from barre ('bar'); the artillery sense is from a 'barrage of fire'.

barrage French barre Old French

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# barrage

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /bəˈrɑʒ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbærɑːʒ/

## Meanings
1. a concentrated outpouring of artillery fire or, figuratively, of questions

## Examples
- Reporters met the minister with a barrage of questions.

## Synonyms
- bombardment
- onslaught
- volley
- salvo
- cannonade
- torrent
- deluge

## Related Forms
- barrer
- bar

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: barrage
- Root: barre

## Etymology
From French barrage ('barrier, dam'), from barrer ('to bar, obstruct'), from barre ('bar'); the artillery sense is from a 'barrage of fire'.

## AI Etymology
barrage comes from French barrage ('barrier, dam'), from barrer ('to bar, obstruct'), from barre ('bar'); the artillery sense is from a 'barrage of fire'. The path is chiefly one of transmission: an older form is taken into English, with the word's shape and meaning carried through the language names and forms preserved in the history. In modern use, the noun sense is "a concentrated outpouring of artillery fire or, figuratively, of questions", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes related English forms such as barrer, bar, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary. The principal historical forms in the chain include French barrage, Old French barre, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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barrage

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