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

Fire crews battled a large fire at a barn Saturday morning in Harvard, Illinois. —Jeramie Bizzle, CBS News, 15 Nov. 2025

Like the yeoman boys are out in the barn, half-naked, working out, buffing up and wearing animal heads and preparing for some kind of an inchoate battle with the burghers. —Literary Hub, 13 Nov. 2025

However in 2014, Daniel's received approval from the town’s Board of Zoning Appeals to build a storage barn to house winery equipment as its first structure. —Heather Bushman, IndyStar, 13 Nov. 2025

The barn can seat upwards of 380 people with extra seating on the mezzanine level. —Kansas City Star, 12 Nov. 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