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

The couple built a seamless live-work compound encompassing a modern home, art studio, and sculpture fabrication barn, connected by flagstone pathways winding through pinyon, juniper, and cedar trees. — Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 16 Sep. 2026

Roughly 390,000 square feet of barns and exhibition halls were scheduled for completion by this fall. — Sofi Zeman, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2026

But hundreds of the worldwide genus Culex were also discovered in a horse barn far to the south in Ölfus. — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 14 Sep. 2026

The single shed was found tacked to the side of a barn and was first bought by a delivery driver. — Scott Einsmann, Outdoor Life, 10 Sep. 2026

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