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bar 1 (bär)
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n.
1. A relatively long, straight, rigid piece of solid material used as a fastener, support, barrier, or structural or mechanical member.
2.
a. A solid oblong block of a substance or combination of ingredients, such as soap or candy.
b. A usually rectangular slice of any of various flat baked confections that are typically dense in texture.
c. A rectangular block of a precious metal.
3. Sports
b. A horizontal rod that marks the height to be cleared in high jumping or pole vaulting.
4. A standard, expectation, or degree of requirement: a leader whose example set a high bar for others.
5. Something that impedes or prevents action or progress: A poor education was a bar to his ambitions.
6. A ridge, as of sand or gravel, on a shore or streambed, that is formed by the action of tides or currents.
7. A narrow marking, as a stripe or band.
8.
a. A narrow metal or embroidered strip worn on a military uniform indicating rank or service.
b. Chiefly British A small insignia worn on a military decoration indicating that it has been awarded an additional time.
9. Heraldry A pair of horizontal parallel lines drawn across a shield.
10. Law
a. The nullification, defeat, or prevention of a claim or action.
b. The process by which nullification, defeat, or prevention is achieved.
11. The railing in a courtroom separating the participants in a legal proceeding from the spectators.
12. A court or courtroom.
13. Law
a. Attorneys considered as a group. Used with the.
b. The profession of law. Used with the.
14. Music
a. A vertical line drawn through a staff to mark off a measure.
b. A measure.
15. Variant of barre.
16.
a. A counter at which drinks, especially alcoholic drinks, and sometimes food, are served.
b. An establishment or room having such a counter.
tr.v. barred, bar·ring, bars
1. To fasten securely with a long, straight, rigid piece of material: barred the gate.
2. To shut in or confine: barred themselves in the basement.
3. To obstruct or impede; block: barred the access route.
4. To keep out; exclude: Tourists are barred from this room.
5.
a. To prohibit or prevent (someone) from doing something: Failing the eye exam barred him from driving.
b. To prohibit (an action): The state bars the dumping of waste in the river.
c. Law To nullify, defeat, or prevent (a claim or action).
6. To rule out; except: Can we bar the possibility of foul play?
7. To mark with stripes or bands.
prep.
Chiefly British Except for; excluding: This was your best performance, bar none.
Idiom:
behind bars
In prison.

[Middle English barre, from Old French; see BARRE.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
bar 2 (bär)
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n.
A unit of pressure equal to one million (106) dynes per square centimeter.

[Greek baros, weight; see gwerə-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
bar-
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pref.
Variant of baro-.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Bar.
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abbr.
Bible
Baruch

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
bar.
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abbr.
1.
a. barometer
b. barometric
2. barrel

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
BAR
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abbr.
Browning automatic rifle

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.