bar

1 of 9

noun (1)

ˈbär 

plural bars

1

a

: a straight piece (as of wood or metal) that is longer than it is wide and has any of various uses (as for a lever, support, barrier, or fastening)

windows with bars across them

a door secured by an iron bar

b

: a solid piece or block of material that is longer than it is wide

a bar of gold

a candy bar

c

: a usually rigid piece (as of wood or metal) longer than it is wide that is used as a handle or support

especially : a handrail used by ballet dancers to maintain balance while exercising

2

: something that obstructs or prevents passage, progress, or action: such as

a

law : the destruction of an action (see action sense 5) or claim

a statute of limitations bar to the present action

also : a plea or objection that effects such destruction

b

: an intangible or nonphysical impediment

His poor attitude was a bar to his success.

c

: a submerged or partly submerged bank (as of sand) along a shore or in a river often obstructing navigation

3

law

a(1)

: the railing in a courtroom that encloses the place about the judge where prisoners are stationed or where the business of the court is transacted in civil cases

(2)

: court, tribunal

The younger judge brought a fresh viewpoint to the bar.

(3)

: a particular system of courts

practices at the New York bar

(4)

: an authority or tribunal that hands down judgment

will be judged at the bar of public opinion

b(1)

: the barrier in the English Inns of Court that formerly separated the seats of the benchers or readers (see reader sense 2) from the body of the hall occupied by the students

(2)

: the whole body of barristers or lawyers qualified to practice in the courts of any jurisdiction

dreams of being admitted to the bar

(3)

: the profession of barrister or lawyer

… heighten respect for members of the bar and judiciary …

—W. L. Hoyt

(4)

US : the test that a person must pass in order to become eligible to work as a lawyer

passed the bar and went into private practice

the bar exam/examination

4

: a straight stripe, band, or line much longer than it is wide: such as

a

heraldry : one of two or more horizontal stripes on a heraldic shield

b

: a metal or embroidered strip worn on a usually military uniform especially to indicate rank (as of a company officer) or service (see service entry 1 sense 6b)

a second lieutenant's bar

c

: any of a series of small rectangular symbols (as on a smartphone or cell phone screen) used as an indication or measurement of signal strength

I never got stellar service, but I used to get two bars, maybe three, on a good day, and I was able to make calls. Then I was down to one bar if I was lucky.

—Maria Tuxhorn, quoted in The Durango (Colorado) Herald

5

a

: a counter at which food or especially alcoholic beverages are served

We sat at the bar while we waited for a table.

b

: a room or establishment where alcoholic drinks and sometimes food are served : barroom

They went to a bar for drinks.

c

: shop sense 2b

a coffee bar

6

music

a

: a vertical line across the musical staff before the initial measure accent (see accent entry 1 sense 5)

b

: measure

Sing the first two bars.

7

textiles : a lace and embroidery joining covered with buttonhole stitch for connecting various parts of the pattern in needlepoint lace and cutwork

8

: standard

wants to raise the bar for approving new drugs

9

: a strip along the edge of a computer window that contains commonly used options or icons

The horizontal navigation bar across the top and bottom enables users to move quickly from primary section to primary section within the site …

—Editor & Publisher

bar

2 of 9

verb

barred; barring

transitive verb

1

a

: to fasten with a long, narrow piece of wood, metal, or other material : to fasten with a bar (see bar entry 1 sense 1a)

b

: to place bars across to prevent ingress or egress

bar the door

2

: to mark with straight stripes, bands, or lines that are much longer than they are wide : to mark with bars (see bar entry 1 sense 4) : stripe

a feather barred with blue

3

a

: to confine or shut in by or as if by bars (see bar entry 1 sense 1a)

barring prisoners in their cells

b

: to set aside : to not take into consideration : rule out

did not bar the possibility of further measures

c

: to keep out : exclude

—often used with from

Women were barred from joining the club.

4

a

: to put forth legal objection to (something, such as a claim or action)

final judgment barred the subsequent claim

: to prevent (a party) from bringing a claim or action

Plaintiffs are barred from litigating such claims.

b

: prevent, forbid

a decision barring his participation

bar

3 of 9

preposition

: except

the country's most popular actor, bar none

bar

4 of 9

noun (2)

: a unit of pressure equal to 100,000 pascals

bar

5 of 9

abbreviation (1)

1

barometer; barometric

2

barrel

Bar

6 of 9

abbreviation (2)

Baruch

BAr

7 of 9

abbreviation (3)

bachelor of architecture

BAR

8 of 9

abbreviation (4)

Browning automatic rifle

bar-

9 of 9

combining form

variants or baro-

: weight : pressure

barometer

Phrases

behind bars

: in jail

putting criminals behind bars

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• beam
• board
• rod

Verb

• streak

Preposition

• except
• beside
• excepting
• besides
• but

Examples of bar in a Sentence

Noun (1)

all of the prison's windows are partially covered with steel bars

the cat had a bar of white down her throat

more than one boater has run aground on that treacherous bar of sand in the river

a bar that serves meals as well as drinks

rather than try and convict the alleged murderer in the mass media, let justice be done at the bar

the complication of the molecule is the biggest bar to reproducing it

we need to raise the bar for what is acceptable behavior in this situation

Verb

He barred the door as soon as he got in.

All the windows and doors were barred.

A herd of goats was barring the road.

Nothing barred them from meeting together.

The judge will bar the jurors from talking to reporters.

A federal court has barred the group from using the name.

The decision bars the possibility of additional development in the area.

forms of punishment barred by the Constitution

Preposition

They have lost every match, bar one.

everyone in the company is invited, bar none

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Many states expressly bar lifers, and virtual lifers, from rehabilitation programs, college education, and any opportunity beyond their cells, favoring those who will one day be released into society and might contribute to it. —Brooke Allen, New Yorker, 12 July 2025

Detroit Thermal is temporarily barred from performing work in the historic Mies van der Rohe District of Detroit’s Lafayette Park neighborhood amid a legal battle between residents and the utility company over plans to reopen a steam heat network underneath their property. —Dana Afana, Freep.com, 12 July 2025

Noun

Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, is opening a new tavern, the first dedicated bar and lounge in the park's 54-year history. —Megan Dubois, Southern Living, 14 July 2025

Fans across South Florida — and the country— flocked to local bars and restaurants that hosted watch parties during the season. —Amanda Rosa july 14, Miami Herald, 14 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English barre, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin *barra

Verb

Middle English barren, borrowed from Anglo-French barrer, derivative of barre bar entry 1

Preposition

derivative of bar entry 2

Noun (2)

borrowed from Greek báros "heaviness, weight, pressure" — more at bar-

Combining form

irregularly from Greek báros "heaviness, weight, pressure," derivative from the base of barýs "heavy" — more at grave entry 2

Note: As Greek báros is a neuter s-stem, it would not regularly produce a compounding form with -o-. In ancient and late classical Greek there appears to be no evidence for a form baro-, though there are a large number of compounds with bary-. The earliest English formation with baro- is probably barometer.

First Known Use

Noun (1)

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Preposition

1723, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1910, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing bar

• anti-roll bar
• bar car
• bar chart
• bar code
• bar cookie
• bar crawl
• bar graph
• bar mitzvah
• bar sinister
• bar soap
• breakfast bar
• broke the color bar
• bus bar
• button bar
• cash bar
• coffee bar
• color bar
• colour bar
• double bar
• error bar
• fern bar
• granola bar
• horizontal bar
• J-bar lift
• menu bar
• open bar
• piano bar
• pinch bar
• raise the bar
• raw bar
• roll bar
• salad bar
• scroll bar
• snack bar
• sound bar
• space bar
• sports bar
• sway bar
• task bar
• T-bar
• tend bar
• the bar
• tiki bar
• torsion bar
• tow bar
• towel bar
• wet bar
• wine bar
• wing bar
• wrecking bar

Rhymes for bar

• ar
• are
• barr
• car
• carr
• char
• charr
• czar
• far
• farre
• haar
• har

Kids Definition

bar

1 of 4 noun

ˈbär 

1

a

: a straight piece (as of metal or wood) that is longer than it is wide

b

: a usually rectangular piece or block of material

a bar of soap

2

: something that hinders or blocks : obstacle

3

: a bank (as of sand) partly or entirely under water along a shore or in a river

4

a

: the railing in a courtroom around the place where the business of the court is carried on

b

: a court of law

c

: the profession of law

5

: stripe entry 3 sense 1

6

a

: a counter on which alcoholic drinks or food is served

b

: barroom

7

a

: a vertical line across the musical staff before the beginning of a measure

b

: measure entry 1 sense 4c

8

: standard entry 1 sense 2a

raise the bar for improving new medicines

bar

2 of 4 verb

barred; barring

1

: to fasten with a bar

bar the door

2

: to mark with bars : stripe

gray feathers barred with brown

3

: to block off : close

bar the road with a chain

4

a

: to keep out : exclude

bar reporters from a meeting

b

: prevent sense 1, forbid

the judge barred them from talking to reporters

bar

3 of 4 preposition

: with the exception of

bar none

bar

4 of 4 noun

: a unit of pressure equal to 100,000 pascals

Etymology

Noun

Middle English barre "bar," from early French barre (same meaning)

Noun

from German Bar "unit of pressure," from Greek baros "weight, pressure"

Medical Definition

bar

1 of 4 noun

ˈbär 

often attributive

1

a

: a piece of metal that connects parts of a removable partial denture

b

: the part of the wall of a horse's hoof that is bent inward toward the frog at the heel on each side and that extends toward the center of the sole

2

: a straight stripe, band, or line much longer than it is wide: as

a

: a transverse ridge on the roof of a horse's mouth

—usually used in plural

b

: the space in front of the molar teeth of a horse in which the bit is placed

bar

2 of 4 transitive verb

barred; barring

: to cut free and ligate (a vein in a horse's leg) above and below the site of a projected operative procedure

bar

3 of 4 noun

: a unit of pressure equal to 100,000 pascals or to one million dynes per square centimeter or to 0.9869 atmosphere

bar

4 of 4 abbreviation

barometer; barometric

Legal Definition

bar

1 of 2 noun

ˈbär 

often attributive

1

a

: the railing in a courtroom that encloses the area around the judge where prisoners are stationed in criminal cases or where the business of the court is transacted in civil cases compare bench sense 1, dock, jury box, stand

b

: court, tribunal

the younger judge brought a fresh viewpoint to the bar

2

a

: the whole body of lawyers

especially : those qualified to practice in the courts of a particular jurisdiction

admitted to the Arizona bar

the bankruptcy bar

compare bench sense 3b

b

: the profession or occupation of lawyer

c

: bar examination

passed the bar

3

: something that prevents admission, progress, or action: as

a

: an intangible impediment, obstacle, or barrier

consent of the victim is a bar to conviction

b

: the permanent preclusion of a claim or action especially due to the loss of a previous suit based on the same cause of action and between the same parties

its earlier successful suit against the purchaser for the price was a bar to the present suit

—Martino v. McDonald's System, Inc., 598 F.2d 1079 (1979)

compare collateral estoppel at estoppel sense 2a, merger sense 4, res judicata sense 2

bar

2 of 2 transitive verb

barred; barring

1

: to keep out : exclude

cannot bar the items from sale

2

: to prevent from doing or accomplishing (something)

plaintiff's conduct may bar her recovery

the contract bars his reinstatement

3

: preclude: as

a

: to act as a bar to (as a claim or action)

final judgment barred the subsequent claim

b

: to prevent (a party) from bringing a claim or action

plaintiffs are barred by the judgment…from relitigating their claims

—Roach v. Teamsters Local Union No. 688, 595 F.2d 446 (1979)

see also estop compare merge sense 2

barrable adjective