: a dam placed in a watercourse to increase the depth of water or to divert it into a channel for navigation or irrigation
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
barraged; barraging
: 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
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
Amanda Castro
peter Aitken, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 June 2025
The Sixers signed George to a four-year max contract last offseason to round out their Big Three next to Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, but that trio never got off the ground in 2024-25 due to a nonstop barrage of injuries.
—Bryan Toporek, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025
Eyal Press, New Yorker, 9 June 2025
Some Republican senators are barraging leadership with concerns about spending cuts for Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, while budget hawks are demanding more deficit reduction and railing against a House compromise to lift the cap on state and local tax deductions.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for barrage
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Noun
More Hossein Beris/Getty Images Iran launched a significant missile barrage on major cities across Israel on Friday.
—Amanda Castro
peter Aitken, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 June 2025
The Sixers signed George to a four-year max contract last offseason to round out their Big Three next to Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, but that trio never got off the ground in 2024-25 due to a nonstop barrage of injuries.
—Bryan Toporek, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025
Verb
But, once the accusation spread, Samara was barraged with threats.
—Eyal Press, New Yorker, 9 June 2025
Some Republican senators are barraging leadership with concerns about spending cuts for Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, while budget hawks are demanding more deficit reduction and railing against a House compromise to lift the cap on state and local tax deductions.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for barrage
Cite this Entry
“Barrage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barrage. Accessed 25 Jun. 2025.
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