bars 1 of 2

plural of bar
1
as in beams
a straight piece (as of wood or metal) that is longer than it is wide all of the prison's windows are partially covered with steel bars

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2
as in streaks
a line or long narrow section differing in color from the background the cat had a bar of white down her throat

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3
as in mounds
a pile or ridge of granular matter (as sand or snow) more than one boater has run aground on that treacherous bar of sand in the river

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4
5
as in tribunals
an assembly of persons for the administration of justice rather than try and convict the alleged murderer in the mass media, let justice be done at the bar

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6
7

bars

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of bar
1
as in stripes
to make stripes on barred the fence with white strips

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2
3
4
as in guards
to disallow entry into (a place) by means of a physical barrier at the entry point the bikeway was barred by a huge fallen tree

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bars
Noun
As in any criminal case, there is a possibility of a plea deal that would call for a much lighter punishment—including, in some instances, no time behind bars particularly when the defendant lacks a criminal record. Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 6 Oct. 2025 So here’s to sneaking it around the thought prison bars. Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2025 The Bad Boy co-founder had already spent a year behind bars, having been first arrested in September 2024. Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 6 Oct. 2025 Center, and the bourbon bars and distilleries making up Whiskey Row. Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 5 Oct. 2025 Local media said victims included patrons at upscale bars and restaurants. Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2025 That abundance is on full display at the hotel’s six restaurants and bars, which source the large majority of ingredients from the surrounding areas. Siobhan Reid, Travel + Leisure, 4 Oct. 2025 Of course, guests also have full access to the main resort’s many restaurants, bars, and Spa Palmera. Angela Caraway-Carlton, Miami Herald, 4 Oct. 2025 That translates into business at bars hosting release parties, customers buying new outfits for those parties and ticket sales at the movie theater. Ramishah Maruf, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2025
Verb
One piece of legislation spurring the industry to action on traceability is the United States’ Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which bars imports tied to China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Sarah Jones, Sourcing Journal, 7 Oct. 2025 Democrats and a union representing federal workers argue the language violates the 1939 Hatch Act, which bars employees of the executive branch from doing anything partisan while at work. Kirk Siegler, NPR, 7 Oct. 2025 The reporting was difficult; New York’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) bars employees from speaking to the media without permission. Jennifer Gonnerman, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025 Entitled Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, the statute bars both photographs and broadcasting from the courtroom of a federal criminal trial. Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025 Orders in Memphis would subject troops to the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars them from engaging in law enforcement. Devon M. Sayers, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2025 The outlets added that Flores is on probation from a 2023 conviction involving a gun and DUI, which bars him from possessing firearms or drinking alcohol. Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 30 Sep. 2025 The state also bars sharing driver’s license data for immigration enforcement, the lawsuit notes. Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 30 Sep. 2025 There’s nothing in the language of Proposition 50 that permanently bars future overrides. Laura Koval, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bars
Noun
  • His antlers were 51 inches along the main beams and had a spread of 48½, with six long symmetrical points to a side.
    Robert Merchant, Outdoor Life, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Across the sideline, Joe Flacco sat on the bench near the end of another disaster, staring blankly into the ceiling beams at Ford Field.
    Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Liverpool’s 25-game unbeaten run, which culminated in November 2021, tied their record from 1982, with both streaks ended by a single-goal margin in a league match the weekend after a home victory in the European Cup/Champions League.
    Will Jeanes, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
  • One ironclad truism about sports is that all streaks eventually come to an end.
    Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 2 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • If drainage is a problem, amend soil with compost or plant on mounds or berms.
    Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Waiting for them were mounds of zucchini, yellow squash and eggplant picked from the food bank’s farm.
    Heather McRea, Oc Register, 26 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • European fans hoping to watch next summer’s World Cup action from their armchairs or favourite pubs have been warned to expect some very late nights, as the organisers try to juggle demands for player-friendly temperatures with broadcasters’ requests for primetime kick-off slots.
    Matt Slater, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
  • After a long day down the shafts, mineworkers would gather at rowdy makeshift pubs called shebeens, and play famo.
    Kate Bartlett, NPR, 29 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • That panel included two former judges who had overseen international criminal tribunals, a former legal adviser to the British Foreign Office, and Amal Clooney, a British Lebanese human-rights lawyer and the wife of George Clooney.
    David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 5 Oct. 2025
  • Winding its way through tax tribunals and the county treasurer's office all the way to the Michigan Court of Appeals through a trail of unseen revocation notices, jurisdictional conflicts and behind-the-scenes bureaucratic handwringing, that eventually got worked out.
    Todd Spangler, Freep.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • This technology includes software and sensors that help the aircraft plan routes, avoid obstacles, and carry out missions independently.
    Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Even the nutritional character of the soil could be altered because of the influx of sediment deposits and underground water contamination, throwing up other obstacles for cultivation later on.
    Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 7 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Since you’re still considered a federal employee on furlough, any job must fall within the federal government’s standards of ethical conduct and rules.
    Medora Lee, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
  • And the typical rules of decorum are loosened as a result — at least by golf standards.
    Bob Harkins, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Penn complained, arguing the law prohibits repossessing a car with someone inside, and demanded $150,000 in compensation.
    Tony Schick, ProPublica, 3 Oct. 2025
  • However, the spicy sausage wasn’t permitted to race full-time until 2007, because MLB prohibits the introduction new mascots during a season.
    Don Riddell, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Bars.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bars. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

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