barrier

BA-ree-ur/ˈbæɹi.ɚ/UKBA-ree-uh/ˈbæɹi.ə(ɹ)/

8 meanings of barrier

1
nouncountable
Something solid put in place to stop people or things from getting through.
Like a fence that stops you from walking into a yard.
The workers put up a barrier to keep cars off the wet road.
A metal barrier separated the crowd from the stage.
Similarbarricade, roadblock, fence, blockade
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2
nouncountable
Something that makes it hard or impossible to do something or move ahead.
Like a big rock blocking a path you want to walk down.
Cost is the biggest barrier to getting a good education.
Fear can be a barrier that stops people from trying new things.
Similarobstacle, hurdle, impediment, hindrance, obstruction
3
nouncountable
A point or edge that marks how far something can go.
Like a finish line that marks the end of a race.
Runners keep trying to break the four-minute barrier in the mile.
Her win broke a barrier that had held women back for years.
Similarlimit, boundary, threshold
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4
verbtransitive
To block a way or path with something that stops people or things passing.
Like putting a gate across a road to stop cars.
Guards barrier the gate every night to stop intruders.
The city barriered the street during the festival.
Similarbar
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5
nouncountable
A wall of special cells in the body that lets some things through but keeps others out.
Like a gate that lets some people in but keeps others out.
This barrier in the gut lets nutrients pass but blocks harmful germs.
Many medicines cannot cross the barrier that protects the brain.
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6
nouncountable
In a theory of grammar, a part of a sentence's structure that stands between two others and stops them from connecting.
Like a wall in a house that stops you from seeing into the next room.
In this theory, a barrier keeps one part of the sentence from controlling another.
Linguists check whether a barrier blocks the link between two words.
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7
nounhistoricalcountable
The fenced area where knights fought each other in old tournaments.
Like the ring where two boxers fight today.
The knights rode into the barrier as the crowd cheered.
Two champions met within the barrier at dawn.
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8
nounhistoricalcountableplural
A kind of fighting contest from long ago, fought across a low rail.
Like two people sword-fighting across a low fence.
The young squires trained at barrier every afternoon.
He won great honor at the barrier during the festival.
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Practice

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Origin

From an Old French word meaning "bar," which came into Middle English.