barrel

1 of 2

noun

bar·​rel ˈber-əl 

ˈba-rəl

1

: a round bulging vessel of greater length than breadth that is usually made of staves bound with hoops and has flat ends of equal diameter

2

a

: the amount contained in a barrel

especially : the amount (such as 31 gallons of fermented beverage or 42 gallons of petroleum) fixed for a certain commodity used as a unit of measure

b

: a great quantity

3

: a drum or cylindrical part: such as

a

: the discharging tube of a gun

b

: the part of a fountain pen or of a pencil containing the ink or lead

c

: a cylindrical or tapering housing containing the optical components of a photographic-lens system and the iris diaphragm

d

: the fuel outlet from the carburetor on a gasoline engine

e

: the flat, cylindrical metal box that encloses the mainspring of a timepiece

4

: the trunk of a quadruped

barreled

ˈber-əld 

ˈba-rəld

adjective

barrel

2 of 2

verb

barreled or barrelled; barreling or barrelling

transitive verb

: to put or pack in a barrel

intransitive verb

: to move at a high speed or without hesitation

Phrases

on the barrel

: asking for or granting no credit

over a barrel

: at a disadvantage : in an awkward position

Synonyms

Noun

• abundance
• basketful
• boatload
• bucket
• bunch
• bundle
• bushel
• carload
• chunk
• deal
• dozen
• fistful
• gobs
• good deal
• heap
• hundred
• lashings [chiefly British]
• lashins
• loads
• lot
• mass
• mess
• mountain
• much
• multiplicity
• myriad
• oodles
• pack
• passel
• peck
• pile
• plateful
• plenitude
• plentitude
• plenty
• pot
• potful
• profusion
• quantity
• raft
• reams
• scads
• sheaf
• shipload
• sight
• slew
• spate
• stack
• store
• ton
• truckload
• volume
• wad
• wealth
• yard

Verb

• belt
• blast
• blaze
• blow
• bolt
• bomb [slang]
• bowl
• breeze
• bundle
• bustle
• buzz
• cannonball
• careen
• career
• chase
• course
• crack (on)
• dash
• drive
• fly
• hare
• hasten
• hie
• highball
• hotfoot (it)
• hump
• hurl
• hurry
• hurtle
• hustle
• jet
• jump
• motor
• nip
• pelt
• race
• ram
• rip
• rocket
• run
• rush
• rustle
• scoot
• scurry
• scuttle
• shoot
• speed
• step
• tear
• travel
• trot
• whirl
• whisk
• zip
• zoom

Examples of barrel in a Sentence

Noun

Oak barrels are used for aging the wine.

The price of oil is over 30 dollars a barrel.

They drank a whole barrel of beer.

the barrel of a gun

Verb

The truck went barreling down Main Street.

She came running out of her office and went barreling past us down the hall.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

As if things weren’t complicated enough, they are forced to work together when a hurricane barrels toward the hospital, which then goes into lockdown. —Dana Feldman, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025

The San Francisco-area plant that Valero plans to shut by April 2026 can process 145,000 barrels of oil a day. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 25 Apr. 2025

Verb

The juggernaut actually barrelling down the quad is A.I., coming at us with shocking speed. —D. Graham Burnett, New Yorker, 26 Apr. 2025

Seconds later, the truck races back into view, barreling over Sloan, still crumpled on the ground, and fatally mowing down Carter, who had been standing on the sidewalk. —Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English barayl, barel, borrowed from Anglo-French barel, baril (continental Old French barril), going back to Gallo-Romance *barrīculus, probably diminutive of *barrīca "cask, barrel" — more at barricade entry 2

Verb

verbal derivative of barrel entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Phrases Containing barrel

• a barrel of laughs
• barrel cactus
• barrel-chested
• barrel cuff
• barrel organ
• barrel racing
• barrel roll
• barrel vault
• cracker-barrel
• double-barrel
• lock, stock, and barrel
• more fun than a barrel (full) of monkeys
• pork barrel
• the bottom of the barrel
• tumbling barrel

Rhymes for barrel

• carol
• apparel

Kids Definition

barrel

1 of 2 noun

bar·​rel ˈbar-əl 

1

: a round bulging container that is longer than it is wide and has flat ends

2

a

: the amount held by a barrel

b

: a great quantity

a barrel of laughs

3

: a part shaped like a cylinder or tube

gun barrel

the barrel of a carburetor

barreled

-əld 

adjective

barrel

2 of 2 verb

barreled or barrelled; barreling or barrelling

: to travel at a high speed

barreling down the highway