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
Head to Palm Beach for bars, shops, and nightlife, or visit the capital for local restaurants, shopping, and historic sites. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Sep. 2026 Success at the local theater means additional revenue for surrounding local businesses — shops, restaurants, bars, coffee shops – that benefit from the foot traffic of the local cinema. — Paul Gunsky, IndieWire, 25 Sep. 2026 There’s also plenty of space to grab a drink at the three bars, one outside on its patio. — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 25 Sep. 2026 An Ole Miss student says she was drugged at a bar over the weekend, days before two students were found dead, as bars around Oxford tighten security with fears running rampant through the college town. — Adam Sabes , Kelsie Cairns, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026 Bush, 44, recalls some of their first shows taking place in college town bars and frat houses, often for paychecks of just a few hundred dollars. — Jack Irvin, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2026 McKinley stages a few bullet-sweating sequences of peril, including a particularly brutal transport of gold bars across a crumbling rope bridge and an underwater accident exacerbated by floating logs. — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026 The new park includes several new restaurants and bars and five times more greenspace than the old track, which has been closed for more than three years. — Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026 Runner’s World reported that fraternities, sororities, bars and other organizations are already reaching out about hosting their own. — Ashley Lynch, Charlotte Observer, 17 Sep. 2026
Verb
Oklahoma officials had argued that allowing the school into the program would violate the First Amendment’s establishment clause, which bars the government from establishing a state religion, an argument the judge rejected. — Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 25 Sep. 2026 The Israeli government largely bars international journalists from entering the Gaza Strip independently, while Palestinians in Gaza are generally not allowed to leave the Gaza Strip. — Drew Paul, The Conversation, 25 Sep. 2026 Peruvian law generally bars outside activity in reserves established for isolated Indigenous peoples, but contains an exception allowing natural resources to be exploited when authorities determine there is a public necessity, Quispe said. — ABC News, 25 Sep. 2026 The agreement also bars retaliation against people who report possible compliance violations or otherwise cooperate with a company investigation. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 23 Sep. 2026 Israel bars entry of almost all construction materials, making even repairs difficult. — Wafaa Shurafa, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2026 Ukraine’s constitution bars elections from being held under martial law, which was introduced after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. — Zahra Ullah, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2026 On Thursday, a federal judge in Virginia granted the preliminary injunction that bars the federal agency from obtaining this data while the litigation continues. — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2026 The Star reported this story over the course of several weeks following an anonymous Reddit thread that went viral detailing allegations about Jay Sanders’ misconduct and abuse at popular Kansas City-area bars Drastic Measures and Wild Child. — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bars
Noun
  • These timber floor structures negate the need for downstand beams (which project below the underside of the floor slab and support it).
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Their antlers might shrink a little bit, although their pedicles will remain wide and the main beams will usually carry lots of mass.
    — Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 24 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • This is what gives the hair its depth and natural-looking streaks.
    — Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 25 Sep. 2026
  • While vinyl siding can be beautiful, rust streaks and mold growth can ruin its appearance, making your entire home look drab and neglected.
    — The Spruce, The Spruce, 20 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Although garden mums are considered hardy to Zone 5, breeders have developed fall mums with big mounds of showy flowers that may not be as cold-hardy as in the past.
    — Lynn Coulter, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 Sep. 2026
  • Sign Up for Our Free Daily Newsletter Some hills in northern Alabama are burial mounds from the Copena people who lived there 2,000 years ago.
    — Elizabeth Anne Brown, Scientific American, 2 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • The Mahony Group runs three pubs and five backpacker hostels around Australia, from Melbourne in the state of Victoria to Cairns in the far north.
    — Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Once industrial and overlooked, this area is now one of the city’s most dynamic neighborhoods—home to galleries, boutique shops, pubs, and canal-side cafés.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Any matters requiring legal enforcement are referred directly to the Texas judicial system, said the tribunal, which likened its work to the services provided by Jewish Beth Din courts and Catholic ecclesiastical tribunals.
    — David Crary, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Based upon their replies, occupying Allied officials ranked their culpability, then tried the worst offenders — most famously in the Nuremberg trials, but also in numerous local tribunals.
    — Fern Schumer Chapman, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Emotional Women Telenovelas have largely reinforced the image of Latin American women as highly emotional and unstable figures who could only reach happiness by way of a sequence of obstacles.
    — Damaly Gonzalez, ARTnews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Rather than simply detecting physical obstacles, the system distinguishes between different types of messes and household objects to optimize cleaning strategies.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 29 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • This could simplify operations for carriers that operate aircraft with both engine standards.
    — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The Senate has been addressing this week nominee confirmations and a bipartisan college sports bill to create standards on how athletes are paid, priorities that Republicans warn present poor optics to voters.
    — Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 24 Sep. 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 1 Oct. 2026.

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