: a dam placed in a watercourse to increase the depth of water or to divert it into a channel for navigation or irrigation
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
barraged; barraging
: 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
Noun (2)
the teacher's rapid-fire barrage of homework assignments went by too fast for me to write them all down
Verb
the star athlete was barraged with requests for an autograph
Recent Examples on the Web
Joshua Boak, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026
Of course, Edgecombe, who’d held Brunson to less than 42% shooting from the field during individual regular-season matchups, led the defensive charge in a 27-point barrage from the Knicks’ captain through the opening two quarters alone.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 5 May 2026
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026
Checchi, in particular, barraged voters with an unrelenting flood of ads.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for barrage
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Noun
The last strikes in Beirut were on April 8, when a series of massive Israeli barrages, including in central Beirut, killed more than 350 people.
—Joshua Boak, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026
Of course, Edgecombe, who’d held Brunson to less than 42% shooting from the field during individual regular-season matchups, led the defensive charge in a 27-point barrage from the Knicks’ captain through the opening two quarters alone.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 5 May 2026
Verb
Each character has totally justified and totally unjustified reasons for resenting one another, and the sensation of absorbing those contrasting opinions is like being in a stuck bumper car, barraged and battered from all sides.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026
Checchi, in particular, barraged voters with an unrelenting flood of ads.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for barrage
Cite this Entry
“Barrage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barrage. Accessed 7 May. 2026.
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