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
Outside of the typical watch parties at local bars, there are several events across town for Monday Night Football. Rashad Alexander, Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2026 Just off the main drag there were Indian-food stations, pasta bars, pretty young women in Prada sport pants giving out Dove Bars. Devin Friedman, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026 Kroger is upgrading wine sections at 147 stores, including some in Louisville, adding tasting bars and classes to help educate shoppers. Ray Padilla, Louisville Courier Journal, 11 Sep. 2026 Amid a rash of smash-and-grab burglaries targeting video gambling machines in restaurants, bars and other businesses, suburban law enforcement agencies are teaming up to fight back. Charles Keeshan, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026 Restaurants and bars added 59,000 jobs last month, construction companies 22,000 and manufacturers 16,000. Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026 Wilson’s whispering, Kermit-ish cadence juxtaposed with Heems’s audacious bars shorthands the borough’s rejection of one-size-fits-all characterization as one of the most diverse urban centers in the world. Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Sep. 2026 Restaurants and bars led with 59,000 new jobs, while government education rose by 42,000 and manufacturing contributed 16,000. Jeff Cox, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2026 Employment surged in restaurants and bars, which added 59,000 jobs in August, after averaging just 12,000 jobs gained each month over the past year. Max Zahn, ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026
Verb
State law bars judges from adding items to the ballot after Tuesday, a tight deadline that could scramble Hanaway’s efforts to overturn the ruling. Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2026 But the likely fake accounts potentially set up a legal quagmire for Temu, as European law bars the use of misleading formats for advertising. Jim Edwards, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026 Now the siblings splurge on Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos and Snickers bars from a federal prison in Miami where they’re being held pending an extradition request from the United Kingdom. Jonny Hallam, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026 At issue are a raft of local and state laws that, in one side’s reading, plainly state that the city allows a maximum of three terms, which bars Altamirano from serving on the council again. Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026 Passed by the state legislature in 2017, Senate Bill 54 bars public agencies from using their resources to support operations by ICE, with limited exceptions for people who have been charged with a serious or violent crime. Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 26 Aug. 2026 The Central Elections Committee later ordered the video removed because election law bars the use of children in campaign propaganda. Deborah Danan, Sun Sentinel, 25 Aug. 2026 Nepal's constitution bars the death penalty for any crimes, so the maximum sentence a court can currently impose is life imprisonment. Arshad R. Zargar, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026 The federal Internet Tax Freedom Act bars the taxation of e-commerce if similar services are not taxed. ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bars
Noun
  • Remembrances extended far from the attack sites, including beams of light projected from New Hampshire's Mount Washington, a stair climb at Mississippi State University's football stadium and a ceremony at Honolulu's 9/11 memorial.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 12 Sep. 2026
  • Although the buildings have gotten taller over the years, the essential tool of the trade — a spud wrench that every ironworker carries on his belt to tighten the bolts that hold the beams together — has not changed in fifty years.
    Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Editor Cam McLauchlin never cuts them into mere blitzes of limbs and blood, though DP Katelin Arizmendi’s acidic palette of yellows, greens and corporeal streaks of red does lend the realism a kind of pop-art splendor.
    Guy Lodge, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026
  • This male bird’s lemon-yellow underside is adorned with fine black streaks that form a necklace across its breast.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • 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
  • And in a sense, chocolate may have helped build the Mississippian mounds.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Oxford is a short drive away; consider a day trip to the historic city to wander through the colleges, go punting along the River Cherwell, or while away an afternoon in one of the many pubs or cafes.
    Irenie Forshaw, TheWeek, 4 Sep. 2026
  • On the less active side of things, the main downtown area is home to many pubs and restaurants, including the famous Pink Pony Club, which is great for lunch.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • 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
  • Lawmakers are prohibited by the state Constitution from being paid representatives for individuals or entities before state agencies other than judicial tribunals.
    Jim Turner, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026
Noun
  • Wong embodied a model of how to reinvent oneself in the face of the most daunting societal obstacles.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Journalists and other civil society actors also continue to face obstacles in their work.
    Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 16 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Inspectors have found hundreds of allegedly fictitious facilities, while at least 833 kitchens have been shut down for failing to meet hygiene and sanitation standards.
    ABC News, ABC News, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Both choices will serve students when faculty are clear about their ambitions and standards.
    Sian Leah Beilock, The Atlantic, 5 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 17 Sep. 2026.

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