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
Her fashion designer husband, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and honest services wire and mail fraud, was sentenced to five months behind bars, two years of supervised release, 250 hours of community service, and a $250,000 fine. Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Oct. 2025 Along the way, riders can encounter everything from public art installations to bike bars that double as popular gathering spots. Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 20 Oct. 2025 Prisoners are not allowed to keep money behind bars, but cash can be provided by family members to a commissary fund used to buy food, toiletries and other minor needs, according to the Prison Fellowship. Mark Price, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2025 The three co-defendants, to be tried together, remain behind bars at Allegheny County Jail pending trial. Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 20 Oct. 2025 Known affectionately by Lynchburg locals as The Cav, what started as a humble neighborhood grocery store and small restaurant has grown into one of the area’s most beloved dive bars. Abby Price, Southern Living, 20 Oct. 2025 The store makes homemade chocolate sweets such as candy apples, Dubai chocolate bars and chocolate truffles. Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 20 Oct. 2025 He was later sentenced to 40 years behind bars for his financial crimes. Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 19 Oct. 2025 Brands ranging from Coors Light to Star Trek sell its apparel, as do local bars and eateries. Alex Harring, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2025
Verb
The Tuesday administrative order from the court bars civil arrests, without a warrant, of a party or witness to proceedings at the local courthouse, within and around any of the Cook County courthouses. Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 18 Oct. 2025 Oregon has a statewide sanctuary law that likewise bars state and local law enforcement from participating in immigration enforcement without a warrant. Ashley J. Dimella, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2025 State law bars cities, counties and other local governments from enacting their own gun, stricter regulations. Rey Covarrubias Jr, AZCentral.com, 14 Oct. 2025 The new law also bars day care providers from collecting immigration information about children or their parents and allows parents to nominate a temporary legal guardian for their child through family court. Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bars
Noun
  • The analysis combined the results from two major long-baseline experiments that send beams of muon neutrinos across hundreds of miles to distant detectors.
    Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Inside, pale marble and granite play against chestnut beams, keeping the spaces bright but grounded, while floor-to-ceiling glass slides open to the landscape, drawing the eye to the sea and surrounding hills.
    Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 23 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Believe it or not, temperature plays a huge role in how well your windows dry and the amount (or lack of) streaks that are left behind.
    Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 24 Oct. 2025
  • In many cases, models rationalized larger bets after losses or winning streaks, even though the rules of the game made such choices statistically unwise.
    Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Some shells are soft, and others are hard with spikes or mounds.
    Kate Siber, Outside, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Archaeologists furthermore explained that, in this region, specifically, the burial mounds tend to harken back to pre-Roman traditions, which might suggest a meeting between Celtic and Roman cultures.
    Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Then there are the local pubs and cafes that thrive on matchday footfall.
    Andy Mitten, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • The key pubs—The Matchmaker Bar, The Ritz, and The Roadside Tavern—are steps from another, so rubbing shoulders with other singles is inevitable.
    Bernadette Keith, Travel + Leisure, 19 Oct. 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
  • The creative journey, like most life journeys, has its obstacles, detours, side trips, and hazards.
    Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 21 Oct. 2025
  • But formidable obstacles remain in the way of a durable peace in Gaza, where a ceasefire collapsed in March after nearly two months of relative calm when Israel unleashed a barrage of airstrikes.
    Alexander Cornwell, USA Today, 20 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • For his part, Elliott has impressed Villa personnel with his attitude and application, which chimes with Emery’s coaching staff’s uber-meticulous professional standards.
    Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Then unlimited human creativity invents new jobs that deliver more value overall, and living standards rise.
    Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Peter Harrell, a visiting scholar at Georgetown’s Institute of International Economic Law, pointed out that IEEPA explicitly prohibits its use against information.
    Jason Ma, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2025
  • Last year, the state implemented Senate Bill 129, a law that prohibits any state agency or educational institution from sponsoring or mandating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
    Abby Monteil, Them., 24 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Bars.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bars. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.

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