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
as in standards
something set up as an example against which others of the same type are compared we need to raise the bar for what is acceptable behavior in this situation

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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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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
Food and drink There are 12 restaurants and bars within the resort's grounds, ranging from the Lakeview Bar near the lobby to a Persian restaurant and the glamorous Oak Grill Restaurant by the Hollywood Pool. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Nov. 2026 The city packs over 300 restaurants, bars, and coffee shops into just under two square miles. — Amelia Mularz, Architectural Digest, 6 Nov. 2026 Last Ditch had been built to do things most bars don’t even attempt. — Tara Knight, Bon Appetit Magazine, 6 Nov. 2026 In addition to restaurants, The 50 also ranks the top bars, hotels and vineyards in the world. — Jeanne Bonner, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2026 Two residents were trapped by window bars in the rear of the first floor, but firefighters got inside through a back door and rescued them. — Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 5 Nov. 2026 More news Record-breaking king tides have flooded beachside bars and restaurants, from Redondo Beach to Long Beach. — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026 The collection of Westport bars is located at 4124 Pennsylvania Ave. — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 30 Oct. 2026 After struggling to convince people in her social circle to forgo late nights at bars for early weekend mornings spent running and at hot yoga classes, the 26-year-old founded a run club called Energy in Liberty Lake, Washington. — Alex Harring,brandon Gomez, CNBC, 30 Oct. 2026
Verb
Peña's removal bars him from the lifetime Senate seat granted to elected former presidents under Paraguay's Constitution, denying him the parliamentary immunity that would accompany it. — Arkansas Online, 7 Nov. 2026 Blank wrote that if confirmed, the relationship presents a serious conflict of interest that bars Garcia from participating in canvassing decisions affecting a candidate represented by an immediate relative. — Ana Maria Soler, CBS News, 6 Nov. 2026 Roughly 600,000 advanced Nvidia chips are stuck in Hong Kong en route to China, Reuters reported, as Beijing — concerned its firms are too reliant on Western tech — bars their entry. — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 5 Nov. 2026 Assembly Bill 1709, introduced by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), bars social media sites from providing features such as autoplay and recommended content displays to teenagers and young children. — Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026 The order also bars the departments from asking state election officials to separate those voters’ ballots or leave them uncounted until citizenship has been proven. — Time Staff, Time, 3 Nov. 2026 The opinion also cited the National Voter Registration Act, which bars states from systematically removing ineligible voters within 90 days of a federal election. — Jude Joffe-Block, NPR, 2 Nov. 2026 The Justice Department sought the records as part of an investigation into whether Harvard is complying with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars racial discrimination in education programs. — CNN Money, 2 Nov. 2026 The draft also bars other federal departments, agencies, and officials from suspending a model’s development, deployment, or internal use. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bars
Noun
  • Instead, dirt paths and stalks of grass populated the area, and steel beams lay on rocks along the coastline of Lake Michigan.
    — Finnegan Belleau, Chicago Tribune, 6 Nov. 2026
  • This produces orthogonal modes that are mutually incoherent, even when the original beams overlap spatially.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 4 Nov. 2026
Noun
  • Corey Seager is an elite hitter, but even the best hitters go through hot and cold streaks.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2026
  • No pressure, no streaks to protect, no scores to chase — just a warm little escape in the cracks of our day.
    — Robert Hart, The Verge, 28 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • The stunt was Depp’s second in-character appearance as Scrooge, coming three months after a similarly interactive appearance at San Diego Comic-Con that also generated mounds of social media content from passerby.
    — J. Kim Murphy, IndieWire, 6 Nov. 2026
  • The soil surrounding termite mounds also provides good conditions for species such as naked mole rats and aardvarks to make their burrows.
    — Chris Elphick, The Conversation, 6 Nov. 2026
Noun
  • In Cornwall, some communities gather in local pubs for a traditional Cornish ‘shout’, joining together to sing folk songs and sea shanties.
    — Olivia Morelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Nov. 2026
  • At first there was just some casual small talk between them, then walks with their dogs, followed by dinners at pubs away from prying eyes and, finally, evenings spent cooking together.
    — Stefania Conrieri, Vanity Fair, 4 Nov. 2026
Noun
  • Her decision triggered a battle over legal consequences surrounding workplace misconduct claims and the authority of campus tribunals.
    — Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 6 Nov. 2026
  • The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, while posturing as the guardian of a democratic transition, governed through massacres and military tribunals.
    — Abdelrahman ElGendy, Time, 6 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Today, obstacles have been further reduced by ever-emerging new tools and platforms.
    — William Jones, Miami Herald, 12 Nov. 2026
  • The vote follows an investigation by The Times that highlighted obstacles faced by people trying to obtain restraining orders in cases of domestic abuse.
    — Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 11 Nov. 2026
Noun
  • Breakfast deserves special mention for its thoughtful inclusion of Swahili and Kenyan specialities alongside continental standards.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Nov. 2026
  • In short, the letter said, voluntary standards have had decades to work but haven’t delivered enough on their own.
    — Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 5 Nov. 2026
Verb
  • Opt for scalloped French tips with blue fresco detailing, or stripes the color of the Tuscan sun.
    — Daisy Maldonado, InStyle, 26 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Bars.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bars. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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