barn

noun

ˈbärn 

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 hotel

—W. A. White

2

: a large building for the housing of a fleet of vehicles (such as trolley cars or trucks)

barnlike

ˈbärn-ˌlīk 

adjective

barny

ˈbär-nē 

adjective

Examples of barn in a Sentence

They live in a big barn of a house.

Recent Examples on the Web

On Monday afternoon, families gathered on picnic tables outside the Pine-O-Mine barn, listening to live music. —William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 1 Sep. 2025

Additional barns held 50 Aberdeen angus cattle. —Kristen Jordan Shamus, Freep.com, 31 Aug. 2025

Alejandra Enciso-Dardashti, creator of Desde Otro Cero, a bilingual website dedicated to the performing arts, has been reviewing plays at the Old Town Theatre on and off for 13 years and has special memories of the old barn. —David J. Bohnet, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2025

Running out of the Mike McCarthy barn, Formidable Man has become a turf monster on the West coast. —Danny Brewer, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025

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

Phrases Containing barn

• barn burner
• barn dance
• barn lot
• barn owl
• barn raising
• barn swallow

Rhymes for barn

• arn
• barne
• carn
• darn
• garn
• karn
• skarn
• yarn

Kids Definition

barn

noun

ˈbärn 

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

Medical Definition

barn

noun

ˈbärn 

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