barrage

1 of 3

noun (1)

bar·​rage ˈbär-ij 

: 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  -ˈräj 

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  -ˈräj 

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

Synonyms of barrage

Noun (2)

• flurry
• bombardment
• volley
• hail
• flood
• torrent

Verb

• flood
• bombard
• bomb
• question

Examples of barrage in a Sentence

Noun (2)

the teacher's rapid-fire barrage of homework assignments went by too fast for me to write them all down

Verb

the star athlete was barraged with requests for an autograph

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Russia has unleashed waves of missile and drone attacks on Kyiv in recent months, including a barrage of strikes on Monday. — Elise Spenner, ABC News, 9 July 2026

If Clase’s home run in the second was an uppercut, then Toronto’s offense in the third was a barrage of jabs. — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 8 July 2026

Verb

April is financial literacy month, which means consumers will be barraged with articles and programs designed to promote personal finance education. — Leah Locke, Boston Herald, 20 Apr. 2026

Each character has totally justified and totally unjustified reasons for resenting one another, and the sensation of absorbing those contrasting opinions is like being in a stuck bumper car, barraged and battered from all sides. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026

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

Phrases Containing barrage

• barrage balloon

Rhymes for barrage

• collage
• corsage
• dressage
• garage
• massage
• mirage
• montage
• swaraj
• arbitrage
• camouflage
• entourage
• sabotage

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)