Word.ws English Dictionary

bar

/bɑː//bɑɹ/

bar noun: a solid, more or less rigid object of metal or wood with a uniform cross-section smaller than its length.

bar: a solid, more or less rigid object of metal or wood with a uniform cross-section smaller than its...
Image: Supersonic0714, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

bar (countable and uncountable, plural bars)

  1. 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. 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.
  3. 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
  5. A long, narrow drawn or printed rectangle, cuboid or cylinder, especially as used in a bar code or a bar chart.
  6. 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.
  7. 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. 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).
  9. 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.
  10. The counter of such premises.
    • Step up to the bar and order a drink.
  11. A counter, or simply a cabinet, from which alcoholic drinks are served in a private house or a hotel room.
  12. (broadly, in-compounds) Premises or a counter serving any type of beverage.
    • a coffee bar
    • a juice bar
Show 28 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. An informal establishment selling food to be consumed on the premises.
    • a burger bar
    • a local fish bar
  2. An establishment offering cosmetic services.
    • a nail bar
    • a brow bar
  3. 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, “Accommodation for Non-Smokers”, in Railway Magazine, pages 295-296
    Synonyms:
    ban, prohibition
  4. 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
  5. (UK, Parliament) A dividing line (physical or notional) in the chamber of a legislature beyond which only members and officials may pass.
  6. (UK) The railing surrounding the part of a courtroom in which the judges, lawyers, defendants and witnesses stay.
  7. (Philippines, US, usually) The bar exam, the legal licensing exam.
    • He's studying hard to pass the Bar this time; he's failed it twice before.
  8. (metonymically, "the Bar", "the bar") Collectively, lawyers or the legal profession; specifically applied to barristers in some countries, but including all lawyers in others.
    • He was called to the bar.
  9. One of an array of bar-shaped symbols that display the level of something, such as wireless signal strength or battery life remaining.
    • I don't have any bars in the middle of this desert.
  10. A vertical line across a musical staff dividing written music into sections, typically of equal durational value.
    Synonyms:
    measure
  11. (in plural, slang) Hip-hop lyrics, especially ones written and delivered skillfully.
    • That rapper there, yeah, he got bars.
  12. (broadly, 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
  13. A horizontal pole that must be crossed in the high jump and pole vault.
  14. (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
  15. (most codes) The crossbar.
    • 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
  16. The central divider between the inner and outer table of a backgammon board, where stones are placed if they are hit.
  17. An addition to a military medal, on account of a subsequent act.
  18. A ridge or succession of ridges of sand or other substance; especially
  19. 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
    Synonyms:
    bank
  20. One of the ordinaries in heraldry; a diminutive of a fess.
    • On the fesse are two bars wavy azure for waterways.1957 February, “B.T.C. Armorial Bearings”, in Railway Magazine, page 81
  21. A city gate, in some British place names.
    • Temple Bar, London
  22. A drilling or tamping rod.
  23. A vein or dike crossing a lode.
  24. A gatehouse of a castle or fortified town.
  25. 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.
  26. (in plural) The space between the tusks and grinders in the upper jaw of a horse, in which the bit is placed.
  27. (slang) A measure of drugs, typically one ounce.
    • 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
  28. (recreational drugs) A small, tablet-shaped dose of Xanax, typically containing two milligrams and able to be split into quarters.

Verb

bar (third-person singular simple present bars, present participle barring, simple past and past participle barred)

  1. (transitive) 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...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
    Synonyms:
    block, hinder, obstruct
  2. (transitive) To prohibit.
    • I couldn't get into the nightclub because I had been barred.
  3. (transitive) 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...

Preposition

bar

  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

Adverb

bar (not comparable)

  1. Denotes the minimum odds offered on other horses not mentioned by name.
    • Leg At Each Corner is at 3/1, Lost My Shirt 5/1, and it's 10/1 bar.

Noun (2)

bar (plural bars)

  1. A non-SI unit of pressure equal to 100,000 pascals, slightly less than atmospheric pressure at sea level.
    Synonyms:
    ㍴

Noun (3)

bar (uncountable)

  1. 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.

Noun (4)

bar (plural bars)

  1. (US, archaic, dialectal) A bear.
    • ‘You see,’ continued he, ‘my wife wanted a new bar-skin petticoat, and Sal, that gal of our’n, kept pesterin me ’bout some bar’s ile to slick her har with, (as the fellers didn’t like to see her mommock her head with taller,) so as how I couldn’t rest. Well, one Sunday morning, I took ‘Brown...1849 November 10, The Spirit of the Times, New York, page 542, column 3

Proper noun (1) capitalized: Bar

the Bar

  1. (alternative) Alternative spelling of bar.

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Bar

Bar

  1. A town and municipality of Montenegro.
    • The railroad from Belgrade to Bar on the Adriatic coast negotiates 234 bridges and 254 tunnels in its tortuous 295-mile route.1990 August, Kenneth C. Danforth, “Yugoslavia: A House Much Divided”, in National Geographic, volume 178, number 2, page 112

Proper noun (3) capitalized: Bar

Bar

  1. A diminutive of the female given name Barbara.
  2. A diminutive of the male given name Barry.
    • Barry is there, playing Ms. Pac-Man.
      "Hey, Bar."
      "Well, have you met him yet?" Barry asks.2008, Richard Uhlig, Last Dance at the Frosty Queen

Proper noun (4) capitalized: Bar

Bar

  1. A town in Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine.

Proper noun (5) capitalized: Bar

Bar

  1. A male or female given name from Hebrew.
    • Defense Minister Israel Katz paid a visit to released hostage Bar Kuperstein, who was an off-duty soldier when he was abducted by Hamas terrorists from the Nova party near Re’im on October 7, 2023.2025 October 15, Emanuel Fabian, “Katz visits freed hostage Bar Kupershtein, thanks him for bravery at Nova festival”, in The Times Of Israel
    • After Spanish actress Penelope Cruz posted an Instagram story showing released Palestinian prisoners reuniting with their families for the first time, Israeli model Bar Refaeli felt compelled to respond.2025 October 15, “Israeli model Bar Refaeli blasts Penelope Cruz over Instagram post”, in Israel Hayom

Proper noun (6) capitalized: BAR

BAR

  1. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of Bureau of Automotive Repair

Noun (5) capitalized: BAR

BAR (plural BARs)

  1. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of Browning automatic rifle.

Adjective capitalized: BAR

BAR (comparative more BAR, superlative most BAR)

  1. (abbreviation, acronym, slang) Acronym of bright, alert, responsive.
    • Anytime you notice your horse is ADR instead of BAR, it's time to get on the phone to your vet.2018, Kendra Gale, The Big Book of Miniature Horses, Trafalgar Square Books, →ISBN

bar meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

bar in Hindi

business licensed to sell intoxicating beverages
बार bār, शराब-घर śarāb-ghar, पब pab, मैख़ाना maixānā

bar in Tamil

metallurgy: solid object of round, square, hexagonal, octagonal or rectangular section
பாளம் pāḷam

bar in Urdu

business licensed to sell intoxicating beverages
بار bār, مَیخانَہ maixāna

bar in Bengali

business licensed to sell intoxicating beverages
বার bar
More languagesFewer languages
bar in Telugu
కడ్డీ kaḍḍī
bar in Kannada
ಬಾರ್
bar in Gujarati
બાર, પટ્ટી, બાર કરવા
bar in Odia
ବାର୍, ବାର, ବାର୍ କରିବା ପାଇଁ
bar in Assamese
মাৰি mari
bar in Nepali
बार
bar in Pashto
ميخانه mayxāna, شرابخانه šarābxāna
bar in Tagalog
bareta, tiho, barikan
bar in Arabic
حَانَة ḥāna, بَار bar
bar in Malay
bar
bar in Indonesian
bar
bar in Thai
บาร์ baa, ผับ pàp, ร้านเหล้า ráan-lâo, ร้านสุรา ráan-sù-raa
bar in Vietnamese
quán rượu, ba
bar in Myanmar
ဘား bha:, အရက်ဆိုင် a.rakhcuing

Examples of bar in a sentence

  • 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:
  • […] 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:

All 40 example sentences with bar

Synonyms of bar

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of bar

Forms of bar

Noun
pluralbars
pluralBARs
Verb
third-person singular presentbars
present participlebarring
past participlebarred
pastbarred
Adjective
comparativemore BAR
superlativemost BAR

Past tense of bar: barred

Plural of bar: bars

Origin of bar

From Middle English barre, from Old French barre (“beam, bar, gate, barrier”), from Vulgar Latin *barra, of uncertain origin. Doublet of barre.

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.

Borrowed from Ancient Greek βάρος (báros, “weight”), coined circa 1900.

Words formed from bar

Phrases with bar

166 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with bar

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about bar

What does bar mean?
Bar means a solid, more or less rigid object of metal or wood with a uniform cross-section smaller than its length.
What is bar in Hindi?
Bar in Hindi is बार (bār), शराब-घर (śarāb-ghar), पब (pab). See Bar meaning in Hindi.
How do you use bar in a sentence?
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.
What part of speech is bar?
Bar can be a noun, a verb, a preposition or an adverb.
How do you pronounce bar?
Bar is pronounced /bɑː/ (UK).
What is the plural of bar?
The plural of bar is bars.

Words near bar in the dictionary

  1. Baquero
  2. Baqueros
  3. baquiloprim
  4. baquote
  5. baquotes
  6. bar
  7. bar and grill
  8. bar association
  9. bar associations
  10. Bar Beach
  11. bar bike

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: bar (page history and authors); Bar (page history and authors); BAR (page history and authors); bar (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); bar (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); bar (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); bar (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-uk-baa.ogg, en-us-bar.ogg.

Cite this entry: “bar.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/bar. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.