Entry Word: bar

Function: noun

Meaning: 1 a straight piece (as of wood or metal) that is longer than it is wide <all of the prison's windows are partially covered with steel bars>

Synonyms billet, rod

Related Words beam, board; band, strip; ingot, slab, stick

2 a line or long narrow section differing in color from the background <the cat had a bar of white down her throat> — see stripe
3 a pile or ridge of granular matter (as sand or snow) <a bar of snow along the edge of the parking lot> — see ²bank
4 a place of business where alcoholic beverages are sold to be consumed on the premises <a bar that serves meals as well as drinks> — see barroom
5 an assembly of persons for the administration of justice <was admitted to the bar last year> — see court 3
6 something that makes movement or progress more difficult <the complication of the molecule is the biggest bar to reproducing it> — see encumbrance