bar

BAHR/bɑɹ/BAH/bɑː/

Pluralbars

Verbbars, barring, barred

42 meanings of bar

Practice

1
pubnouncountable or uncountable
A place where people buy and drink alcohol, like a pub.
Like a coffee shop, but it serves alcoholic drinks instead of coffee.
We met some friends at the bar after work.
The bar near my house closes at midnight.
Similarpub, tavern, saloon, alehouse, barroom
2
serving counternouncountable or uncountable
The long counter where drinks are served, in a pub or at home.
Like the counter in a shop where you pay, but for drinks.
He leaned on the bar and ordered a drink.
She wiped down the bar after the last customer left.
UsageSay we sat at the bar.
Similarcounter
3
blocknouncountable or uncountable
A solid block of something, shaped like a brick or rectangle.
Like a brick, but made of soap or chocolate.
She unwrapped a bar of chocolate and shared it.
He bought a fresh bar of soap for the bathroom.
UsageSay a bar of soap.
Similarblock, cake, slab, ingot
4
rodnouncountable or uncountable
A long, stiff piece of metal or wood, the same width all along.
Like a long stick, but made of metal or wood.
An iron bar held the gate shut.
He used a metal bar to pry the lid open.
UsageBehind bars means in prison.
Similarrod, pole, rail, beam
Note
5
banverbtransitive
To officially stop someone from doing or entering something.
Like locking a door so no one can come in.
The school decided to bar phones from the classroom.
The new policy barred employees from accepting gifts.
UsageSay they barred him from the club.
Similarban, prohibit, exclude, forbid
Oppositeallow, permit, admit
Note
6
button stripnouncountable
A long, thin strip on a computer or phone screen that holds buttons, information or a place to type.
Type the website address into the bar at the top of the window.
Swipe up on the bar at the bottom of your phone to go home.
UsageType in the search bar.
Similartoolbar
7
nouncountable or uncountablein compounds
A place or counter where one kind of food or drink is served, like a coffee bar or salad bar.
Like a long table where someone hands you your drink.
The hotel's coffee bar opens at six for early guests.
She works at a juice bar that sells fresh smoothies.
Similarcounter
Note
8
standardnounfigurativelycountable or uncountable
A level you have to reach or beat to do well.
Like a line you must jump over to pass a test.
The team set the bar high for next season.
Her amazing work raised the bar for everyone.
UsageSay raise the bar or set the bar high.
Similarstandard, benchmark, mark, level
Note
9
lawyersnounmetonymicallycountable or uncountable
Lawyers as a group, or the legal profession as a whole.
Like calling all doctors together 'the medical profession.'
After law school, she was admitted to the bar.
Members of the bar gathered to discuss the new law.
UsageLawyers are called to the bar or admitted to the bar.
Note
10
nouncountable or uncountable
A thick line or narrow block in a chart, code, or display, like the bars showing phone signal.
Like the tall and short marks you see on a graph.
Each bar on the chart shows sales for one month.
The scanner reads the black bars on the label.
UsageSay a bar chart.
11
law examnounPhilippinesUScountable or uncountable
The big test someone must pass to become a lawyer.
Like a driving test, but for becoming a lawyer.
She studied all summer for the bar.
He passed the bar on his first try.
UsageSay she passed the bar.
Note
12
nouncountable or uncountable
A wide band, stripe, or beam.
Like a wide stripe of paint across a wall.
A bar of sunlight crossed the wooden floor.
The flag had three colored bars across it.
UsageSay a bar of sunlight.
Similarshaft, band, stripe, streak, beam
13
exceptpreposition
Used to mean 'except' or 'not counting.'
Like saying 'everyone except that one person.'
Everyone passed the test bar one student.
The shop is open every day bar Sunday.
UsageSet phrase: bar none (with no exceptions).
Similarexcept, besides, excluding, save, but
Oppositeincluding
Note
14
music sectionnouncountable or uncountable
A short section of written music between two upright lines.
Like splitting a sentence into short pieces, but with music.
Sing the first bar again, please.
There are four beats in each bar of this song.
Similarmeasure
15
nouncountable or uncountable
The pole across the top of a goal, or the pole a jumper must get over.
The goalkeeper jumped high and pushed the ball over the bar.
Before the game, the workers tied the net to the posts and the bar.
Similarcrossbar
Note

Less common meanings

16
nouncountable or uncountable
An extra part added to a military medal for something the holder did later.
Grandpa later won a bar to his medal for saving another soldier.
His medal has two bars, so he was honored three times.
UsageSay a bar to a medal.
17
block the wayverbtransitive
To block someone or something from getting past.
Like a closed gate that stops you from walking through.
Fallen trees bar the road, so we have to go back.
A locked gate barred their path to the garden.
UsageSay a gate barred their way.
Similarblock, obstruct
18
obstaclenouncountable or uncountable
Something that stops something from happening, such as a problem in the way or a rule against it.
Like a fence that stops you from going forward.
Lack of money was a bar to his education.
Fear can be a bar to making new friends.
UsageSay money was a bar to his education.
Similarbarrier, obstacle, hindrance, impediment, obstruction
Note
19
lock a gateverbtransitive
To lock a door or gate by putting a bar across it.
Like sliding a strong stick across a door so it won't open.
They bar the gate every night before dark.
She barred the heavy door against the wind.
Similarbolt, lock, secure, fasten
Oppositeunbolt, unlock
20
music linenouncountable or uncountable
A straight line drawn across written music to mark off sections.
Like the lines on a notebook that split writing into rows.
The teacher drew a bar after every four beats.
Put a double bar at the end to show where the song stops.
Note
21
rap lyricsnounslangcountable or uncountableplural
Lines of rap lyrics, especially clever and skillfully written ones.
Like a clever line in a poem that everyone remembers.
His new song has some of the best bars I've heard this year.
When she rapped her last bar, the whole crowd cheered.
UsageSay she's got bars about a good rapper.
Similarline, rhyme
Note
22
sand ridgenouncountable or uncountable
A long bank of sand or stones in water, such as at the mouth of a river.
Like an underwater wall of sand that boats must go around.
Large ships cannot cross the bar at low tide.
The harbor bar shifts after every big storm.
UsageShips cross the bar.
Similarsandbank, shoal, sandbar
Note
23
pressure unitnouncountable
A unit for measuring pressure, close to the air pressure at sea level.
Like a way to measure how hard the air or water pushes.
The tire gauge read two bar, so I pumped in more air.
Divers feel about one extra bar of pressure for every ten meters down.
UsageSay two bar or 200 bar.
Note
24
beauty shopnouncountable or uncountable
A place that offers beauty treatments like makeup, lashes, or nails.
Like a small shop where someone makes you look nice.
The new nail bar downtown is always full on Saturdays.
I booked a facial at a small beauty bar near my house.
UsageUsed with the type of beauty service, as in a nail bar or a brow bar.
Similarsalon, studio
25
nounslang
A small, flat pill of the medicine Xanax, usually two milligrams.
26
noun
A straight line used as a writing mark, like the line in a fraction.
27
noun
A line over part of a logarithm that shows that part is below zero.
28
noun
A line over a particle's symbol that means it is an antiparticle.
29
noun
A made-up name programmers use in examples, often after foo.
30
nounUK
A line in a parliament that only members and staff may cross.
31
nounUK
In a courtroom, the barrier that separates the public area from the area used by the court.
32
noun
The middle strip on a backgammon board. Pieces that get hit are put there.
33
noun
A thin band going across a shield in heraldry.
34
noun
An old gate into a walled town, now part of the names of some places in Britain.
35
noun
A rod used to make holes in rock or to press material firmly into them.
36
noun
A line of rock that crosses through a vein of metal ore.
37
noun
The building over the entrance to a castle or walled town.
38
noun
The part of a horse's hoof wall that turns in at the heel.
39
noun
The gap in a horse's mouth where the bit sits.
40
nounslang
An amount of illegal drugs sold together, often around an ounce.
41
verb
To mark something with stripes.
42
preposition
In horse betting, used after odds to mean all other horses are at those odds or longer.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of bar apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–4, 6–12, 14–16, 18, 20–22, 24

It came through Old French from a Latin word meaning a beam or barrier. The exact origin is not known.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

The noun came through Old French from Latin. en.wiktionary.org
The Latin source meant a barrier. en.wiktionary.org
The ultimate origin is uncertain. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 5, 13, 17, 19

This is the verb, formed from the noun "bar" and coming through Old French from a Latin word meaning "to bar."

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

The verb ultimately derives from the corresponding noun. en.wiktionary.org
The verb came through Old French from Medieval Latin barrare, meaning "to bar." en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 23

Borrowed in the early 1900s from a Greek word meaning "weight."

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

The pressure-unit word bar dates from the early 1900s. en.wiktionary.org
Bar derives from a Greek word meaning weight. en.wikipedia.org