barrack

1 of 3

noun

bar·​rack ˈber-ək 

-ik;

ˈba-rək,

-rik

1

: a building or set of buildings used especially for lodging soldiers in garrison

—usually used in plural

2

a

: a structure resembling a shed or barn that provides temporary housing

—usually used in plural

b

: housing characterized by extreme plainness or dreary uniformity

—usually used in plural

barrack

2 of 3

verb (1)

barracked; barracking; barracks

transitive verb

: to lodge in barracks

barrack

3 of 3

verb (2)

barracked; barracking; barracks

transitive verb

chiefly British

: to shout at derisively or sarcastically

intransitive verb

1

chiefly Australia : root, cheer

—usually used with for

2

chiefly British : jeer, scoff

barracker noun

Examples of barrack in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

On the market with both Knight Frank and Savills for a spine-tingling £42 million (or about $53.2 million), the swanky Belgravia residence is nestled within Chelsea Barracks, a former British Army barracks that’s been converted into an award-winning residential development. —Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 10 Apr. 2024

From the Archives travels today up to North County for this shot of the Camp Pendleton barracks in 1951 against the backdrop of Southern California coastal hills. —U-T Staff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2024

The sound of club striking ball from between the barracks may as well have been a dinner bell for avid golfer Ward-Thomas, who — soon followed by other prisoners — approached Smith for a piece of the action. —Jack Bantock, CNN, 9 Mar. 2024

On several occasions, the guards locked Tokunaga and his friends in their barracks. —Jonathan Van Harmelen, The Mercury News, 19 Mar. 2024

Three installations in Germany would also receive new barracks, while projects would also be planned for Parks Reserve Forces Training Center, California, and Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico, on the reserve side. —Michael Lee, Fox News, 18 Mar. 2024

In 1953, George Weltner, head of international distribution for Paramount, suggested to Billy Wilder that the Nazi spy who infiltrated the American POW barracks in Stalag 17 (1953) be changed to a Polish spy for release in the German market. —Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Feb. 2024

Military analysts have credited the general with preparing the army in the weeks and days before the attack by flying jets to reserve airfields and moving troops from barracks that were subsequently bombed. —Marc Santora, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2024

Six months later, a Mercedes truck drove toward the U.S. barracks at Beirut International Airport, where U.S. Marine peacekeepers were sleeping in for a half hour on a balmy October Sunday. —Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2024

Verb

For New Yorkers barracked in our houses and apartments, or doctors and nurses scrambling for face masks, beseeching a saint to end an epidemic may not sound sufficient. —Jason Farago, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2020

Army barracks torn down, new housing to come The Glendale campus was originally a U.S. Army air-training base for World War II. —Jen Fifield, azcentral, 16 June 2019

Some 200 people were quickly evacuated from campgrounds in the fire's path in addition to 80 children who were trapped in a camp barracks Saturday. —CBS News, 10 July 2017

The Marine veteran used some of his time while in the Wounded Warrior barracks to take writing, filmmaking and business classes, with an eye toward this future. —Jeanette Steele, sandiegouniontribune.com, 22 June 2017

The military would not permit reporters to wait near the gate to the prison barracks complex. —Charlie Savage, New York Times, 16 May 2017

Word History

Etymology

Noun

French baraque hut, from Catalan barraca

Verb (2)

perhaps from dialect (northern Ireland) barrack to brag

First Known Use

Noun

1686, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Verb (1)

1701, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1885, in the meaning defined at transitive sense