barrack

1 of 3

noun

bar·​rack ˈber-ək How to pronounce barrack (audio)
-ik;
ˈba-rək,
-rik
1
: a building or set of buildings used especially for lodging soldiers in garrison
usually used in plural
2
a
: a structure resembling a shed or barn that provides temporary housing
usually used in plural
b
: housing characterized by extreme plainness or dreary uniformity
usually used in plural

barrack

2 of 3

verb (1)

barracked; barracking; barracks

transitive verb

: to lodge in barracks

barrack

3 of 3

verb (2)

barracked; barracking; barracks

transitive verb

chiefly British
: to shout at derisively or sarcastically

intransitive verb

1
chiefly Australia : root, cheer
usually used with for
2
chiefly British : jeer, scoff
barracker noun

Examples of barrack in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
On several occasions, the guards locked Tokunaga and his friends in their barracks. Jonathan Van Harmelen, The Mercury News, 19 Mar. 2024 Three installations in Germany would also receive new barracks, while projects would also be planned for Parks Reserve Forces Training Center, California, and Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico, on the reserve side. Michael Lee, Fox News, 18 Mar. 2024 In 1953, George Weltner, head of international distribution for Paramount, suggested to Billy Wilder that the Nazi spy who infiltrated the American POW barracks in Stalag 17 (1953) be changed to a Polish spy for release in the German market. Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Feb. 2024 Military analysts have credited the general with preparing the army in the weeks and days before the attack by flying jets to reserve airfields and moving troops from barracks that were subsequently bombed. Marc Santora, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2024 Six months later, a Mercedes truck drove toward the U.S. barracks at Beirut International Airport, where U.S. Marine peacekeepers were sleeping in for a half hour on a balmy October Sunday. Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2024 The barracks are believed to be the last standing building directly linked to the underrepresented and under-researched Jamaican presence in Colorado. Jonathan Shikes, The Denver Post, 1 Feb. 2024 Whereas the first 89 included grand, gabled homes built before 1919, with sweeping porches and staircases, the nearly 100 more added to the list are in 12 multi-unit infantry barracks along Pope Avenue and Doniphan Drive dating to the early 1900s. Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 4 Mar. 2024 The base in the forest grew to include a new command center and barracks, and swelled from 80 to 800 Ukrainian intelligence officers. Michael Schwirtz, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2024
Verb
For New Yorkers barracked in our houses and apartments, or doctors and nurses scrambling for face masks, beseeching a saint to end an epidemic may not sound sufficient. Jason Farago, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2020 Army barracks torn down, new housing to come The Glendale campus was originally a U.S. Army air-training base for World War II. Jen Fifield, azcentral, 16 June 2019 Some 200 people were quickly evacuated from campgrounds in the fire's path in addition to 80 children who were trapped in a camp barracks Saturday. CBS News, 10 July 2017 The Marine veteran used some of his time while in the Wounded Warrior barracks to take writing, filmmaking and business classes, with an eye toward this future. Jeanette Steele, sandiegouniontribune.com, 22 June 2017 The military would not permit reporters to wait near the gate to the prison barracks complex. Charlie Savage, New York Times, 16 May 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'barrack.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

French baraque hut, from Catalan barraca

Verb (2)

perhaps from dialect (northern Ireland) barrack to brag

First Known Use

Noun

1686, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Verb (1)

1701, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1885, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of barrack was in 1686

Dictionary Entries Near barrack

Cite this Entry

“Barrack.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barrack. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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