1
: a round bulging vessel of greater length than breadth that is usually made of staves bound with hoops and has flat ends of equal diameter
2
a
: the amount contained in a barrel
especially
: the amount (such as 31 gallons of fermented beverage or 42 gallons of petroleum) fixed for a certain commodity used as a unit of measure
b
: a great quantity
3
: a drum or cylindrical part: such as
a
: the discharging tube of a gun
b
: the part of a fountain pen or of a pencil containing the ink or lead
c
: a cylindrical or tapering housing containing the optical components of a photographic-lens system and the iris diaphragm
d
: the fuel outlet from the carburetor on a gasoline engine
e
: the flat, cylindrical metal box that encloses the mainspring of a timepiece
4
: the trunk of a quadruped
barreled or barrelled; barreling or barrelling
: to put or pack in a barrel
: to move at a high speed or without hesitation
Synonyms
Noun
- abundance
- basketful
- boatload
- bucket
- bunch
- bundle
- bushel
- carload
- chunk
- deal
- dozen
- fistful
- gobs
- good deal
- heap
- hundred
- lashings [chiefly British]
- lashins
- loads
- lot
- mass
- mess
- mountain
- much
- multiplicity
- myriad
- oodles
- pack
- passel
- peck
- pile
- plateful
- plenitude
- plentitude
- plenty
- pot
- potful
- profusion
- quantity
- raft
- reams
- scads
- sheaf
- shipload
- sight
- slew
- spate
- stack
- store
- ton
- truckload
- volume
- wad
- wealth
- yard
Verb
- belt
- blast
- blaze
- blow
- bolt
- bomb [slang]
- bowl
- breeze
- bundle
- bustle
- buzz
- cannonball
- careen
- career
- chase
- course
- crack (on)
- dash
- drive
- fly
- hare
- hasten
- hie
- highball
- hotfoot (it)
- hump
- hurl
- hurry
- hurtle
- hustle
- jet
- jump
- motor
- nip
- pelt
- race
- ram
- rip
- rocket
- run
- rush
- rustle
- scoot
- scurry
- scuttle
- shoot
- speed
- step
- tear
- travel
- trot
- whirl
- whisk
- zip
- zoom
Examples of barrel in a Sentence
Noun
Oak barrels are used for aging the wine.
The price of oil is over 30 dollars a barrel.
They drank a whole barrel of beer.
the barrel of a gun
Verb
The truck went barreling down Main Street.
She came running out of her office and went barreling past us down the hall.
Recent Examples on the Web
Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2024
The tension in the Middle East is among the reasons U.S. oil prices are up about 20% this year, ranging recently from roughly $85 to $90 a barrel.
—David Lightman, Sacramento Bee, 11 Apr. 2024
Gas prices are also rising because of mounting geopolitical tensions in Russia and the Middle East, with Brent crude earlier this month surging beyond $90 a barrel and the U.S. benchmark topping $86.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 10 Apr. 2024
Gas demand rose from 8.72 million to 9.23 million barrels a day, while total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 4.2 million barrels to 227.8 million barrels, according to new data from the Energy Information Administration.
—Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 8 Apr. 2024
Then, Pierson saw industrial-size barrels, the ones used by cartels to dispose of human remains.
—Beth Warren, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2024
One notable trend in recent years has been the sharp rise in U.S. oil exports, with the country shipping a record 4.1 million barrels of oil exports daily last year on average, according to the EIA.
—The Arizona Republic, 5 Apr. 2024
Saudi reserves, in shallow sands, are so easily accessible that Aramco spends less than $10 to produce each barrel of oil.
—Vivienne Walt, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2024
The liquid in the decanter came from 13-year-old barrels of whiskey that was distilled in September of 1999, the year Heaven Hill acquired the brand, and dumped in March of 2013.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 3 Apr. 2024
Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024
He was involved in a collision at the plate during the fourth inning: Mets outfielder Starling Marte was barreling home, attempting to score from third base.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 16 Apr. 2024
Some former officials told me that she’s been barrelling ahead with her reforms, ignoring the input of longtime staff, and installing loyal aides to top positions.
—Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
However, the system could barrel over the Great Lakes, causing poor viewing conditions.
—Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 4 Apr. 2024
Seconds later, before the door can even fully close behind him, a huge, circular saw blade can be seen barrelling across the parking lot, lodging itself into the side of the building where Reimche had been just seconds before.
—USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024
With an annual spending deficit exceeding 6% of GDP and national debt barreling toward $35 trillion in the coming months, the Fed's priority appears to be stabilizing or potentially lowering interest rates and borrowing costs overachieving its 2% inflation target.
—Dan Irvine, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
The quake struck the sparsely populated, largely rural eastern county of Hualien, stranding hundreds in a national park as boulders barreled down mountains, cutting off roads.
—Chris Pandolfo, Fox News, 4 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, the county is barreling toward this year's state primary and general elections.
—Sasha Hupka, The Arizona Republic, 29 Mar. 2024
Noun
When Dozier approached, Cook grabbed the barrel of the rifle and attempted to wrestle it from Dozier’s hand, but Dozier broke free and fired as Cook attempted to run away, according to police.
—Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2024
The tension in the Middle East is among the reasons U.S. oil prices are up about 20% this year, ranging recently from roughly $85 to $90 a barrel.
—David Lightman, Sacramento Bee, 11 Apr. 2024
Gas prices are also rising because of mounting geopolitical tensions in Russia and the Middle East, with Brent crude earlier this month surging beyond $90 a barrel and the U.S. benchmark topping $86.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 10 Apr. 2024
Gas demand rose from 8.72 million to 9.23 million barrels a day, while total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 4.2 million barrels to 227.8 million barrels, according to new data from the Energy Information Administration.
—Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 8 Apr. 2024
Then, Pierson saw industrial-size barrels, the ones used by cartels to dispose of human remains.
—Beth Warren, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2024
One notable trend in recent years has been the sharp rise in U.S. oil exports, with the country shipping a record 4.1 million barrels of oil exports daily last year on average, according to the EIA.
—The Arizona Republic, 5 Apr. 2024
Saudi reserves, in shallow sands, are so easily accessible that Aramco spends less than $10 to produce each barrel of oil.
—Vivienne Walt, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2024
The liquid in the decanter came from 13-year-old barrels of whiskey that was distilled in September of 1999, the year Heaven Hill acquired the brand, and dumped in March of 2013.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 3 Apr. 2024
Verb
The killer nicknamed Smiley sat in the last row of an Alaska Airlines jet, barreling toward Los Angeles and his past.
—Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024
He was involved in a collision at the plate during the fourth inning: Mets outfielder Starling Marte was barreling home, attempting to score from third base.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 16 Apr. 2024
Some former officials told me that she’s been barrelling ahead with her reforms, ignoring the input of longtime staff, and installing loyal aides to top positions.
—Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
However, the system could barrel over the Great Lakes, causing poor viewing conditions.
—Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 4 Apr. 2024
Seconds later, before the door can even fully close behind him, a huge, circular saw blade can be seen barrelling across the parking lot, lodging itself into the side of the building where Reimche had been just seconds before.
—USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024
With an annual spending deficit exceeding 6% of GDP and national debt barreling toward $35 trillion in the coming months, the Fed's priority appears to be stabilizing or potentially lowering interest rates and borrowing costs overachieving its 2% inflation target.
—Dan Irvine, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
The quake struck the sparsely populated, largely rural eastern county of Hualien, stranding hundreds in a national park as boulders barreled down mountains, cutting off roads.
—Chris Pandolfo, Fox News, 4 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, the county is barreling toward this year's state primary and general elections.
—Sasha Hupka, The Arizona Republic, 29 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'barrel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near barrel
Cite this Entry
“Barrel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barrel. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
barrel
2 of 2 verb
barreled or barrelled; barreling or barrelling
: to travel at a high speed
barreling down the highway
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