bar

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) A solid, more or less rigid object of metal or wood with a uniform cross-section smaller than its length.
2. (countable, uncountable) 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.
3. (countable, uncountable) A cuboid piece of any solid commodity.
4. (countable, uncountable) A broad shaft, band, or stripe.
5. (countable, uncountable) A long, narrow drawn or printed rectangle, cuboid or cylinder, especially as used in a bar code or a bar chart.
6. (countable, uncountable) 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. (countable, uncountable) 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. (countable, uncountable) 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. (countable, uncountable) A business selling alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises, or the premises themselves; a public house.
10. (countable, uncountable) The counter of such premises.
11. (countable, uncountable) A counter, or simply a cabinet, from which alcoholic drinks are served in a private house or a hotel room.
12. (broadly, countable, in-compounds, uncountable) Premises or a counter serving any type of beverage.
13. (countable, uncountable) An informal establishment selling food to be consumed on the premises.
14. (countable, uncountable) An establishment offering cosmetic services.
15. (countable, uncountable) An official order or pronouncement that prohibits some activity.
16. (countable, uncountable) Anything that obstructs, hinders, or prevents; an obstruction; a barrier.
17. (countable, uncountable) A metasyntactic variable representing an unspecified entity, often the second in a series, following foo.
18. (UK, countable, uncountable) A dividing line (physical or notional) in the chamber of a legislature beyond which only members and officials may pass.
19. (UK, countable, uncountable) The railing surrounding the part of a courtroom in which the judges, lawyers, defendants and witnesses stay.
20. (Philippines, US, countable, uncountable, usually) The bar exam, the legal licensing exam.
21. (countable, metonymically, uncountable) Collectively, lawyers or the legal profession; specifically applied to barristers in some countries, but including all lawyers in others.
22. (countable, uncountable) One of an array of bar-shaped symbols that display the level of something, such as wireless signal strength or battery life remaining.
23. (countable, uncountable) A vertical line across a musical staff dividing written music into sections, typically of equal durational value.
24. (countable, uncountable) One of those musical sections.
25. (countable, in-plural, slang, uncountable) One of those musical sections.
26. (countable, uncountable) A horizontal pole that must be crossed in the high jump and pole vault.
27. (countable, figuratively, uncountable) Any level of achievement regarded as a challenge to be overcome; a standard or expectation.
28. (countable, uncountable) The crossbar.
29. (countable, uncountable) The central divider between the inner and outer table of a backgammon board, where stones are placed if they are hit.
30. (countable, uncountable) An addition to a military medal, on account of a subsequent act.
31. (countable, uncountable) A ridge or succession of ridges of sand or other substance; especially
32. (countable, uncountable) A ridge or succession of ridges of sand or other substance; especially:
33. (countable, uncountable) One of the ordinaries in heraldry; a diminutive of a fess.
34. (countable, uncountable) A city gate, in some British place names.
35. (countable, uncountable) A drilling or tamping rod.
36. (countable, uncountable) A vein or dike crossing a lode.
37. (countable, uncountable) A gatehouse of a castle or fortified town.
38. (countable, uncountable) 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.
39. (countable, in-plural, uncountable) The space between the tusks and grinders in the upper jaw of a horse, in which the bit is placed.
40. (countable, slang, uncountable) A measure of drugs, typically one ounce.
41. (countable, uncountable) A small, tablet-shaped dose of Xanax, typically containing two milligrams and able to be split into quarters.

Verb

1. (transitive) To obstruct the passage of (someone or something).
2. (transitive) To prohibit.
3. (transitive) To lock or bolt with a bar.
4. To imprint or paint with bars, to stripe.

Prep

1. Except, other than, besides.
2. Denotes the minimum odds offered on other horses not mentioned by name.

Synonyms

pub

block

bolt

obstruct

tavern

rod

barrier

saloon

pole

prevent

hinder

rail

impede

latch

obstacle

block up

stick

counter

stop

🛑

forbid

exclude

staff

ingot

measure

shaft

inhibit

public house

prohibit

taproom

debar

spar

beam

barricade

stripe

blockade

ban

stake

barroom

block off

impediment

hasp

handle

ginmill

hurdle

stem

shut

cocktail lounge

cake

🍰

buffet

clog

Translations

bar

barra

barre

Bar

bar

bar

bar

sbarra

barra

Stange

barra

barrer

μπαρ

bar

Pronounced as (IPA)

/bɑː/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: barre

Inherited from Middle English: barren

Cognate with Occitan: barrar

Cognate with Spanish: barrar

Cognate with Portuguese: barrar

In summary

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

Sentences

We met Alexander and the bar and had a great time last night .