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 hotelW. A. White
2
: a large building for the housing of a fleet of vehicles (such as trolley cars or trucks)
barnlike adjective
barny adjective

Examples of barn in a Sentence

They live in a big barn of a house.
Recent Examples on the Web Firefighters were able to save three camps on the ranch that included barns and other structures. Jamie Stengle, Quartz, 7 Mar. 2024 Equine enthusiasts will appreciate the garage/barn, three horse stalls, tack room, and feed room. Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 4 Mar. 2024 As a workaround, Pye said platforms were built around the elephant barn, parts of the yard terrain were elevated, and Nadirah was trained to stand over those areas to help Corra reach. USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2024 There’s also a separate one-bedroom guest dwelling that’s perched atop a 2,475-square-foot barn. Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 1 Mar. 2024 One of the first police reports claimed the pads had been burglarized from Henley’s barn in Malibu, California. David Browne, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2024 Rock County authorities are continuing to assess the damages made by the Evansville tornado and severe storm on Thursday that tore roofs off houses and barns and downed power lines and trees. Journal Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2024 And for a luxe ranch stay, Alisal Ranch is at the top of my must-experience list; the family-friendly property is more than 10,000 acres and on-site activities range widely, from family bingo and crafts in the barn to horseback riding and mountain e-biking. Chelsee Lowe, Travel + Leisure, 25 Feb. 2024 But the sheep and their new caretakers faced a rapidly developing problem: soggy pastures and flooding barn stalls. Hilary Howard, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'barn.' 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

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of barn was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near barn

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

barn

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

Medical Definition

barn

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

More from Merriam-Webster on barn

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