barrage

1 of 3

noun (1)

bar·​rage ˈbär-ij How to pronounce barrage (audio)
: a dam placed in a watercourse to increase the depth of water or to divert it into a channel for navigation or irrigation

barrage

2 of 3

noun (2)

bar·​rage bə-ˈräzh How to pronounce barrage (audio) -ˈräj How to pronounce barrage (audio)
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

barrage

3 of 3

verb

bar·​rage bə-ˈräzh How to pronounce barrage (audio) -ˈräj How to pronounce barrage (audio)
barraged; barraging

transitive verb

: 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

Verb the star athlete was barraged with requests for an autograph
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Meanwhile, the city has battled a barrage of apocalyptic headlines — fair or not — since the onset of the pandemic, which experts say could also affect residents’ perceptions of crime and safety. Reis Thebault, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024 The shooting happened just before 5:15 p.m., and responding officers indicated there was a barrage of gunfire that stopped quickly. Jennifer Henderson, CNN, 1 Mar. 2024 In its latest attack, Hezbollah fired a barrage of 60 rockets at an Israeli military base on the Golan Heights. World. Forbes International, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 Why would Biden agree to be subjected to a barrage of personal insults and lies? Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 23 Feb. 2024 Indeed, the few Western visitors to Moscow these days – such as former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson recently – invariably voice surprise at the outward dearth of hardship in a country so deep into a major war and the accompanying barrage of sanctions, the most severe in history. Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Feb. 2024 Due to the constant barrage of cold fronts in the South during the winter, the region’s primarily shallow-water fisheries lack the stability needed to level off their water temperatures in the 65- to 72-degree range that’s ideal for spawning there. Shaye Baker, Field & Stream, 21 Feb. 2024 Carondelet’s lead ballooned to 34 in the second quarter after making a barrage of open 3-pointers. Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2024 Finally, a barrage of antitank missiles destroyed the strong room in which the former future rulers of Iraq were barricaded. Gideon Rose, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
Verb
Instantly, Heffernan said, trolls descended, barraging her with anti-Semitic and misogynistic messages. Sarah Blaskey, Miami Herald, 13 Feb. 2024 Like in 2013, when the nonprofit punk fanzine Razorcake applied for a tiny Los Angeles-area FM station on the same signal as an EMF translator down in Orange County, and EMF barraged it with complaints about potential interference. Katie Thornton, Rolling Stone, 21 Jan. 2024 One of the biggest DDoS defense firms in the world could no longer handle the scale of the data torrent barraging his site. Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 14 Nov. 2023 For about 20 seconds, McAbee, body weighed about 300 pounds, was on top of Wayte while rioters barraged the officer on all sides. Rachel Weiner, Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2023 The disaster declaration from President Joe Biden on Tuesday stemmed from storms that barraged Cook County from June 29 to July 2 and will free up federal funding for the thousands who incurred damage, according to an announcement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 17 Aug. 2023 Since Saturday’s attack, Israel has cut off food, water, and fuel to Gaza, which has more than 2 million residents, and barraged the area with rocket attacks, killing more than 1,000 people. Sarah Matusek, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Oct. 2023 Thousands of pro-fracking comments barraged the inbox of the commission, which will decide in the coming months whether to free mineral rights under state lands for leasing and bidding from oil and gas drillers. Jake Zuckerman, cleveland, 10 Sep. 2023 Utility crews were still working Wednesday to restore power to thousands of people after heavy rains and winds barraged the region Monday evening, toppling utility poles, severing power lines and upending trees. Sherry Greenfield, Baltimore Sun, 9 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'barrage.' 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 (1)

French, from barrer to bar, from barre bar

Noun (2)

French (tir de) barrage barrier fire

Verb

verbal derivative of barrage entry 2

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1837, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1915, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1918, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of barrage was in 1837

Dictionary Entries Near barrage

Cite this Entry

“Barrage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barrage. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

barrage

noun
bar·​rage
bə-ˈräzh,
-ˈräj
1
: a barrier formed by continuous artillery or machine-gun fire directed upon a narrow strip of ground
2
: a rapid or furiously active flow (as of speech or writing)

More from Merriam-Webster on barrage

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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