barn

noun

ˈbärn 

1

a

: a usually large building for the storage of farm products or feed and usually for the housing of farm animals or farm equipment

b

: an unusually large and usually bare building

a great barn of a hotel

—W. A. White

2

: a large building for the housing of a fleet of vehicles (such as trolley cars or trucks)

barnlike

ˈbärn-ˌlīk 

adjective

barny

ˈbär-nē 

adjective

Examples of barn in a Sentence

They live in a big barn of a house.

Recent Examples on the Web

The anticipated bout was a barn-burner from the get-go, as the Golden Eagles made a statement on their opening drive. —Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025

Those that live in rural barns, feed lots, or aquaculture ponds are monitored by cameras. —Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 7 Sep. 2025

Later, a second person is found dead, hanged by the neck from an overhead beam in the barn. —Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2025

After earning her Commercial Driver's License (CDL), Ezrre was given her route, which was 45 minutes from her bus barn and required her to drive on the freeway. —Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 6 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English bern, from Old English bereærn, from bere barley + ærn house, store

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing barn

• barn burner
• barn dance
• barn lot
• barn owl
• barn raising
• barn swallow

Rhymes for barn

• arn
• barne
• carn
• darn
• garn
• karn
• skarn
• yarn

Kids Definition

barn

noun

ˈbärn 

: a building used chiefly for storing grain and hay and for housing farm animals or farm equipment

Medical Definition

barn

noun

ˈbärn 

: a unit of area equal to 10⁻²⁴ square centimeters that is used in nuclear physics for measuring cross section