barrage

1 of 3

noun (1)

bar·​rage ˈbär-ij How to pronounce barrage (audio)
: a dam placed in a watercourse to increase the depth of water or to divert it into a channel for navigation or irrigation

barrage

2 of 3

noun (2)

bar·​rage bə-ˈräzh How to pronounce barrage (audio) -ˈräj How to pronounce barrage (audio)
1
military : artillery fire laid on a line (see line entry 1 sense 6c) close to friendly troops to screen and protect them
The enemy laid down a barrage of machine-gun fire as our platoon approached the bridge.
2
: a vigorous or rapid outpouring or projection of many things at once
a barrage of phone calls
unleashed a barrage of insults
an oratorical barrage

barrage

3 of 3

verb

bar·​rage bə-ˈräzh How to pronounce barrage (audio) -ˈräj How to pronounce barrage (audio)
barraged; barraging

transitive verb

: to deliver a barrage (see barrage entry 2) against
were barraged with bullets
being barraged by campaign ads before the election

Examples of barrage in a Sentence

Verb the star athlete was barraged with requests for an autograph
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula remain high in the wake of North Korea's barrage of missile tests since 2022. Bradford Betz, Fox News, 18 Mar. 2024 But the long-term damage to the public perception of the prosecution remains unclear, particularly in light of Trump’s relentless barrage of attacks on the pair who pledged to hold Trump accountable but found their own actions under a public microscope. Alanna Durkin Richer, Twin Cities, 15 Mar. 2024 Russian forces in the Kupiansk region were sending barrages of artillery raining down on Ukrainian lines. Nicole Tung, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2024 Min ultimately emerged victorious, but only after surviving a barrage of negative advertising centered on his 2023 arrest for driving while intoxicated — arguably a gift to Republicans ahead of his fall battle with Baugh. Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2024 The loss of the pool has sparked a barrage of messages to the symphony. Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 9 Mar. 2024 Other footage collected by Ukrainian units shows scenes of devastation, with high-rise buildings covered in holes from the constant Russian barrages. Vasco Cotovio, CNN, 16 Feb. 2024 That incredible sustained barrage quickly burned through millions of rounds in just a few months, more or less consuming every 122-millimeter and 152-millimeter round Russian forces had on hand before the war. David Axe, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024 Meanwhile, the city has battled a barrage of apocalyptic headlines — fair or not — since the onset of the pandemic, which experts say could also affect residents’ perceptions of crime and safety. Reis Thebault, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024
Verb
In other videos, Russian forces can be seen being barraged by U.S.-supplied cluster munitions. Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 23 Oct. 2023 Instantly, Heffernan said, trolls descended, barraging her with anti-Semitic and misogynistic messages. Sarah Blaskey, Miami Herald, 13 Feb. 2024 Like in 2013, when the nonprofit punk fanzine Razorcake applied for a tiny Los Angeles-area FM station on the same signal as an EMF translator down in Orange County, and EMF barraged it with complaints about potential interference. Katie Thornton, Rolling Stone, 21 Jan. 2024 One of the biggest DDoS defense firms in the world could no longer handle the scale of the data torrent barraging his site. Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 14 Nov. 2023 For about 20 seconds, McAbee, body weighed about 300 pounds, was on top of Wayte while rioters barraged the officer on all sides. Rachel Weiner, Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2023 The disaster declaration from President Joe Biden on Tuesday stemmed from storms that barraged Cook County from June 29 to July 2 and will free up federal funding for the thousands who incurred damage, according to an announcement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 17 Aug. 2023 Since Saturday’s attack, Israel has cut off food, water, and fuel to Gaza, which has more than 2 million residents, and barraged the area with rocket attacks, killing more than 1,000 people. Sarah Matusek, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Oct. 2023 Thousands of pro-fracking comments barraged the inbox of the commission, which will decide in the coming months whether to free mineral rights under state lands for leasing and bidding from oil and gas drillers. Jake Zuckerman, cleveland, 10 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'barrage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

French, from barrer to bar, from barre bar

Noun (2)

French (tir de) barrage barrier fire

Verb

verbal derivative of barrage entry 2

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1837, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1915, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1918, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of barrage was in 1837

Dictionary Entries Near barrage

Cite this Entry

“Barrage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barrage. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

barrage

noun
bar·​rage
bə-ˈräzh,
-ˈräj
1
: a barrier formed by continuous artillery or machine-gun fire directed upon a narrow strip of ground
2
: a rapid or furiously active flow (as of speech or writing)

More from Merriam-Webster on barrage

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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