BAR (barred, barring)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does BAR mean? 

• BAR (noun)
  The noun BAR has 15 senses:

1. a room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter

2. a counter where you can obtain food or drink

3. a rigid piece of metal or wood; usually used as a fastening or obstruction or weapon

4. musical notation for a repeating pattern of musical beats

5. an obstruction (usually metal) placed at the top of a goal

6. the act of preventing

7. (meteorology) a unit of pressure equal to a million dynes per square centimeter

8. a submerged (or partly submerged) ridge in a river or along a shore

9. the body of individuals qualified to practice law in a particular jurisdiction

10. a narrow marking of a different color or texture from the background

11. a block of solid substance (such as soap or wax)

12. 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

13. a horizontal rod that serves as a support for gymnasts as they perform exercises

14. a heating element in an electric fire

15. (law) a railing that encloses the part of the courtroom where the judges and lawyers sit and the case is tried

  Familiarity information: BAR used as a noun is familiar.

• BAR (verb)
  The verb BAR has 4 senses:

1. prevent from entering; keep out

2. render unsuitable for passage

3. expel, as if by official decree

4. secure with, or as if with, bars

  Familiarity information: BAR used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BAR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

bar; barroom; ginmill; saloon; taproom

Context example:

he drowned his sorrows in whiskey at the bar

Hypernyms ("bar" is a kind of...):

room (an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bar"):

barrelhouse; honky-tonk (a cheap drinking and dancing establishment)

cocktail lounge (a barroom in a hotel or restaurant where cocktails are served)

sawdust saloon (a saloon whose floor is covered with sawdust)

speakeasy ((during prohibition) an illegal barroom)

Holonyms ("bar" is a part of...):

gin mill; pothouse; pub; public house; saloon; taphouse (tavern consisting of a building with a bar and public rooms; often provides light meals)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A counter where you can obtain food or drink

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

he bought a hot dog and a coke at the bar

Hypernyms ("bar" is a kind of...):

counter (table consisting of a horizontal surface over which business is transacted)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bar"):

sushi bar (a bar where sushi is served)

wine bar (a bar that serves only wine)

wet bar (a bar for mixing drinks that has a sink with running water)

soda fountain (a counter where ice cream and sodas and sundaes are prepared and served)

salad bar (a bar where diners can assemble a salad to their own taste)

oyster bar (a bar (as in a restaurant) that specializes in oysters prepared in different ways)

cash bar (a counter at a large party where you can purchase drinks by the glass)

buffet; snack bar; snack counter (usually inexpensive bar)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A rigid piece of metal or wood; usually used as a fastening or obstruction or weapon

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

there were bars in the windows to prevent escape

Hypernyms ("bar" is a kind of...):

implement (instrumentation (a piece of equipment or tool) used to effect an end)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bar"):

handspike (a metal bar (or length of pipe) used as a lever)

slice bar (iron bar used to loosen and rake clinkers out of furnaces)

heaver (a bar used as a lever (as in twisting rope))

lever (a rigid bar pivoted about a fulcrum)

rail (a horizontal bar (usually of wood or metal))

rotor (the revolving bar of a distributor)

shackle (a U-shaped bar; the open end can be passed through chain links and closed with a bar)

anti-sway bar; stabilizer bar (a rigid metal bar between the front suspensions and between the rear suspensions of cars and trucks; serves to stabilize the chassis)

towel bar; towel rail (a horizontal bar a few inches from a wall for holding towels)

rail; rails; runway; track (a bar or pair of parallel bars of rolled steel making the railway along which railroad cars or other vehicles can roll)

grab bar (a bar attached parallel to a wall to provide a handgrip for steadying yourself)

fret (a small bar of metal across the fingerboard of a musical instrument; when the string is stopped by a finger at the metal bar it will produce a note of the desired pitch)

drawbar (a strong metal bar bearing a hook to attach something to be pulled)

crossbar (a horizontal bar that goes across something)

core (a bar of magnetic material (as soft iron) that passes through a coil and serves to increase the inductance of the coil)

chinning bar (a horizontal bar on which you can chin yourself)

carpenter's level (a straight bar of light metal with a spirit level in it)

bolt (a sliding bar in a breech-loading firearm that ejects an empty cartridge and replaces it and closes the breech)

bolt; deadbolt (the part of a lock that is engaged or withdrawn with a key)

belaying pin (a wood or metal bar to which a rope can be secured (as on a ship or in mountain climbing))

handlebar (the shaped bar used to steer a bicycle)

Derivation:

bar (secure with, or as if with, bars)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Musical notation for a repeating pattern of musical beats

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

bar; measure

Context example:

the orchestra omitted the last twelve bars of the song

Hypernyms ("bar" is a kind of...):

musical notation ((music) notation used by musicians)

Sense 5

Meaning:

An obstruction (usually metal) placed at the top of a goal

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

it was an excellent kick but the ball hit the bar

Hypernyms ("bar" is a kind of...):

impediment; impedimenta; obstructer; obstruction; obstructor (any structure that makes progress difficult)

Holonyms ("bar" is a part of...):

goal (game equipment consisting of the place toward which players of a game try to advance a ball or puck in order to score points)

Derivation:

bar (secure with, or as if with, bars)

bar (render unsuitable for passage)

Sense 6

Meaning:

The act of preventing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

bar; prevention

Context example:

money was allocated to study the cause and prevention of influenza

Hypernyms ("bar" is a kind of...):

hinderance; hindrance; interference (the act of hindering or obstructing or impeding)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bar"):

debarment (the act of prevention by legal means)

disqualification (the act of preventing someone from participating by finding them unqualified)

interception (the act of intercepting; preventing something from proceeding or arriving)

non-proliferation; nonproliferation (the prevention of something increasing or spreading (especially the prevention of an increase in the number of countries possessing nuclear weapons))

forestalling; obviation; preclusion (the act of preventing something by anticipating and disposing of it effectively)

prophylaxis (the prevention of disease)

save ((sports) the act of preventing the opposition from scoring)

crushing; quelling; stifling; suppression (forceful prevention; putting down by power or authority)

averting (the act of preventing something from occurring)

Derivation:

bar (prevent from entering; keep out)

Sense 7

Meaning:

(meteorology) a unit of pressure equal to a million dynes per square centimeter

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Context example:

unfortunately some writers have used bar for one dyne per square centimeter

Hypernyms ("bar" is a kind of...):

pressure unit (a unit measuring force per unit area)

Meronyms (parts of "bar"):

millibar (a unit of atmospheric pressure equal to one thousandth of a bar)

bar absolute; barye; microbar (the absolute unit of pressure equal to one dyne per square centimeter)

Domain category:

meteorology (the earth science dealing with phenomena of the atmosphere (especially weather))

Sense 8

Meaning:

A submerged (or partly submerged) ridge in a river or along a shore

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Context example:

the boat ran aground on a submerged bar in the river

Hypernyms ("bar" is a kind of...):

barrier (anything serving to maintain separation by obstructing vision or access)

ridge (a long narrow natural elevation or striation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bar"):

sand bar; sandbar (a bar of sand)

Sense 9

Meaning:

The body of individuals qualified to practice law in a particular jurisdiction

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

bar; legal community; legal profession

Context example:

he was admitted to the bar in New Jersey

Hypernyms ("bar" is a kind of...):

profession (the body of people in a learned occupation)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Sense 10

Meaning:

A narrow marking of a different color or texture from the background

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

bar; streak; stripe

Context example:

may the Stars and Stripes forever wave

Hypernyms ("bar" is a kind of...):

marking (a pattern of marks)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bar"):

band; banding; stria; striation (a stripe or stripes of contrasting color)

Sense 11

Meaning:

A block of solid substance (such as soap or wax)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

bar; cake

Context example:

a bar of chocolate

Hypernyms ("bar" is a kind of...):

block (a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bar"):

tablet (a small flat compressed cake of some substance)

Sense 12

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

BAR; Browning automatic rifle

Hypernyms ("BAR" is a kind of...):

automatic; automatic rifle; machine rifle (light machine gun)

Sense 13

Meaning:

A horizontal rod that serves as a support for gymnasts as they perform exercises

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bar" is a kind of...):

support (any device that bears the weight of another thing)

Holonyms ("bar" is a part of...):

high bar; horizontal bar (gymnastic apparatus consisting of a bar supported in a horizontal position by uprights at both ends)

bars; parallel bars (gymnastic apparatus consisting of two parallel wooden rods supported on uprights)

Sense 14

Meaning:

A heating element in an electric fire

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

an electric fire with three bars

Hypernyms ("bar" is a kind of...):

heating element (the component of a heater or range that transforms fuel or electricity into heat)

Domain region:

Britain; Great Britain; U.K.; UK; United Kingdom; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; 'Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom)

Sense 15

Meaning:

(law) a railing that encloses the part of the courtroom where the judges and lawyers sit and the case is tried

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

spectators were not allowed past the bar

Hypernyms ("bar" is a kind of...):

rail; railing (a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Holonyms ("bar" is a part of...):

court; courtroom (a room in which a lawcourt sits)

• BAR (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Prevent from entering; keep out

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

bar; debar; exclude

Context example:

He was barred from membership in the club

Hypernyms (to "bar" is one way to...):

disallow; forbid; interdict; nix; prohibit; proscribe; veto (command against)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody PP
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

bar (the act of preventing)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Render unsuitable for passage

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

bar; barricade; block; block off; block up; blockade; stop

Context example:

stop the busy road

Hypernyms (to "bar" is one way to...):

block; close up; impede; jam; obstruct; obturate; occlude (block passage through)

Verb group:

block; obstruct (shut out from view or get in the way so as to hide from sight)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "bar"):

block off; close off; shut off (block off the passage through)

close (bar access to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

bar (an obstruction (usually metal) placed at the top of a goal)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Expel, as if by official decree

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

banish; bar; relegate

Context example:

he was banished from his own country

Hypernyms (to "bar" is one way to...):

expel; kick out; throw out (force to leave or move out)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "bar"):

spike (stand in the way of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody PP

Sense 4

Meaning:

Secure with, or as if with, bars

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

He barred the door

Hypernyms (to "bar" is one way to...):

fasten; fix; secure (cause to be firmly attached)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Antonym:

unbar (remove a bar from (a door))

Derivation:

bar (a rigid piece of metal or wood; usually used as a fastening or obstruction or weapon)

bar (an obstruction (usually metal) placed at the top of a goal)

 Context examples 

Participants sniffed the contents, identified the vial with the different odor, and then scanned that vial’s bar code.

(Humans Can Identify More Than 1 Trillion Smells, NIH, US)

Spin makes electrons behave a bit like tiny bar magnets and point a certain way.

(‘Magnetic graphene’ switches between insulator and conductor, University of Cambridge)

Electrical recordings showed that some of these cells fired when a bar of light passed across the retina from left to right, whereas others responded to light crossing in the opposite direction.

(Eye cells may use math to detect motion, NIH)

This is not unlike asking an Olympic gymnast to land on Teflon-covered high bars without chalking their hands.

(Researchers study birds to improve how robots land, National Science Foundation)

Why, I can get between the iron window-bars of the parson’s house, and throw you out whatever you want.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

The Milky Way, the galaxy we live in, has a barred spiral shape, with arms of stars, gas and dust winding out from a central bar.

(Stars Found Far from Galaxy Center, JPL/NASA)

BIN1 contains a BAR domain and an SH3 domain and may be phosphorylated by protein kinase C.

(Bridging Integrator 1, NCI Thesaurus)

A bar designed to be chewed to release active and/or inert ingredient(s).

(Chewable Bar Dosage Form, NCI Thesaurus)

They can come as pills, capsules, powders, drinks, and energy bars.

(Dietary Supplements, NIH: National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements)

A dosing unit equal to the amount of active ingredient(s) contained in a bar.

(Bar Dosing Unit, NCI Thesaurus)