Definition of
Bar
- (noun, artifact) a room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter
- (noun, artifact) a counter where you can obtain food or drink
- (noun, artifact) a rigid piece of metal or wood; usually used as a fastening or obstruction or weapon
- (noun, communication) musical notation for a repeating pattern of musical beats
- (noun, artifact) an obstruction (usually metal) placed at the top of a goal
- (noun, act) the act of preventing
money was allocated to study the cause and prevention of influenza - (noun, quantity) (meteorology) a unit of pressure equal to a million dynes per square centimeter
- (noun, object) a submerged (or partly submerged) ridge in a river or along a shore
- (noun, group) the body of individuals qualified to practice law in a particular jurisdiction
- (noun, attribute) a narrow marking of a different color or texture from the background
may the Stars and Stripes forever wave - (noun, artifact) a block of solid substance (such as soap or wax)
- (noun, artifact) a portable .30 caliber automatic rifle operated by gas pressure and fed by cartridges from a magazine; used by United States troops in World War I and in World War II and in the Korean War
- (noun, artifact) a horizontal rod that serves as a support for gymnasts as they perform exercises
- (noun, artifact) a heating element in an electric fire
- (noun, artifact) (law) a railing that encloses the part of the courtroom where the judges and lawyers sit and the case is tried
- (verb, communication) prevent from entering; keep out
- (verb, contact) render unsuitable for passage
barricade the streets
stop the busy road - (verb, social) expel, as if by official decree
- (verb, contact) secure with, or as if with, bars
via WordNet, Princeton University
Synonyms of Bar
banish, barricade, barroom, block, block off, block up, blockade, browning automatic rifle, cake, debar, exclude, ginmill, legal community, legal profession, measure, prevention, relegate, saloon, stop, streak, stripe, taproom
Antonyms of Bar
Alternate forms of Bar
Derivations: bar
Hyponyms: anti-sway bar, averting, band, banding, barrelhouse, belaying pin, block off, bolt, buffet, carpenter's level, cash bar, chinning bar, close, close off, cocktail lounge, core, crossbar, crushing, deadbolt, debarment, disqualification, drawbar, forestalling, fret, grab bar, handlebar, handspike, heaver, honky-tonk, interception, lever, non-proliferation, nonproliferation, obviation, oyster bar, preclusion, prophylaxis, quelling, rail, rails, rotor, runway, salad bar, sand bar, sandbar, save, sawdust saloon, shackle, shut off, slice bar, snack bar, snack counter, soda fountain, speakeasy, spike, stabilizer bar, stifling, stria, striation, suppression, sushi bar, tablet, towel bar, towel rail, track, wet bar, wine bar
Hypernyms: automatic, automatic rifle, barrier, block, close up, counter, disallow, expel, fasten, fix, forbid, heating element, hinderance, hindrance, impede, impediment, impedimenta, implement, interdict, interference, jam, kick out, machine rifle, marking, musical notation, nix, obstruct, obstructer, obstruction, obstructor, obturate, occlude, pressure unit, profession, prohibit, proscribe, rail, railing, ridge, room, secure, support, throw out, veto
Origin of the word Bar
- late 12c., "stake or rod of iron used to fasten a door or gate," from O.Fr. barre (12c.) "beam, bar, gate, barrier," from V.L. *barra "bar, barrier," which some suggest is from Gaulish *barros "the bushy end" [Gamillscheg], but OED regards this as "discredited" because it "in no way suits the sense." Of soap, by 1833; of candy, by 1906 (the process itself d… more
- c.1300, "to fasten (a gate, etc.) with a bar," from bar (1); sense of "to obstruct, prevent" is recorded by 1570s. Expression bar none "without exception" is recorded from 1866. more
- "tavern," 1590s, so called in reference to the bars of the barrier or counter over which drinks or food were served to customers (see bar (1)). Barmaid is from 1772; barfly "habitual drunkard" is from 1910. more
- "whole body of lawyers, the legal profession," 1550s, a sense which derives ultimately from the railing that separated benchers from the hall in the Inns of Court. Students who had attained a certain standing were "called" to it to take part in the important exercises of the house. After c.1600, however, this was popularly assumed to mean the bar in a courtroom, which wa… more
- unit of pressure, coined 1903 from Gk. baros "weight," from barys "heavy" (see grave (adj.)). more
via Online Etymology Dictionary, ©2001 Douglas Harper