barrel

1 of 2

noun

bar·rel ˈber-əl

ˈba-rəl

Synonyms of barrel next

: 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

: 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

: a great quantity

: a drum or cylindrical part: such as

: the discharging tube of a gun

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

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

: the fuel outlet from the carburetor on a gasoline engine

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

: 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

Example Sentences

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. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

International benchmark Brent crude fell 0.4 percent to $82.32 per barrel, while U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate fell 11 cents to $76.55. —

Harold Maass, The Week, 9 Mar. 2023 Front-month Brent crude oil for May delivery gained 1.27% on Friday, finishing the week with a gain of 3.63% at $85.83 per barrel. —

Brenda León, WSJ, 3 Mar. 2023 The price of crude oil hit below $80 per barrel on Monday, down $3 from a week ago, GasBuddy reported. —

Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2023 That's well above the $60 threshold set by the G-7 and above Russia's flagship Urals grade crude, which in January fell to trade as low as $38 per barrel. —

Breanne Deppisch, Washington Examiner, 27 Feb. 2023 Russia’s 2023 budget is based on a Urals price of more than $70 per barrel. —

Julia Horowitz, CNN, 22 Feb. 2023 Last spring, the Alaska Department of Revenue estimated that prices would average $101 per barrel between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023. —

James Brooks, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Feb. 2023 Over in commodities, oil continues to flirt with $80 per barrel. —

Jj Kinahan, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2023 Last summer, natural gas prices in Europe hit record levels and oil hovered at $120 per barrel. —

Wyatte Grantham-philips, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2023

Verb

Winds on Thursday are expected to barrel across a stretch of the country from Louisiana to Pennsylvania, and snow and ice could hit New York and New England. —

Marina Pitofsky, USA TODAY, 8 Feb. 2023 Severe storms are forecasted to barrel through the southern U.S. beginning on Tuesday afternoon. —

Devika Rao, The Week, 29 Nov. 2022 Police believe this so much that after officers are shot, colleagues often don’t wait for an ambulance and use a patrol car to barrel to the emergency room. —

Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2022 Punxsutawney Phil did end up seeing his shadow on Wednesday, predicting another six weeks of barren cold just as a winter storm is set to barrel through Texas and much of the U.S. —

Dallas News, 2 Feb. 2022 After a brief respite, another storm was expected to barrel into parts of the state beginning Wednesday, adding to the misery and further saturating areas already at risk of flooding. —

Christopher Weber And Stefanie Dazio, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Jan. 2023 After a brief respite, another storm was expected to barrel into the state in a few days, adding to the misery and further saturating areas already at risk of flooding and debris flows. —

CBS News, 10 Jan. 2023 After a brief respite, another storm was expected to barrel into parts of the state beginning Wednesday, adding to the misery and further saturating areas already at risk of flooding. —

Christopher Weber, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Jan. 2023 The Padres seem intent on continuing to barrel into breech without hesitation. —

Bryce Millercolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'barrel.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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

Time Traveler

The first known use of barrel was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century