a relatively long, evenly shaped piece of some solid substance, as metal or wood, used as a guard or obstruction or for some mechanical purpose: the bars of a cage.
2.
an oblong piece of any solid material: a bar of soap; a candy bar.
3.
the amount of material in a bar.
4.
an ingot, lump, or wedge of gold or silver.
5.
a long ridge of sand, gravel, or other material near or slightly above the surface of the water at or near the mouth of a river or harbor entrance, often constituting an obstruction to navigation.
6.
anything that obstructs, hinders, or impedes; obstacle; barrier: a bar to important legislation.
7.
a counter or place where beverages, esp. liquors, or light meals are served to customers: a snack bar; a milk bar.
8.
a barroom or tavern.
9.
(in a home) a counter, small wagon, or similar piece of furniture for serving food or beverages: a breakfast bar.
10.
the legal profession.
11.
the practicing members of the legal profession in a given community.
12.
any tribunal: the bar of public opinion.
13.
a band or strip: a bar of light.
14.
a railing in a courtroom separating the general public from the part of the room occupied by the judges, jury, attorneys, etc.
15.
a crowbar.
16.
Music.
a.
Also called bar line.the line marking the division between two measures of music.
Heraldry. a horizontal band, narrower than a fess, that crosses the field of an escutcheon.
28.
Obsolete. a gateway capable of being barred.
–verb (used with object)
29.
to equip or fasten with a bar or bars: Bar the door before retiring for the night.
30.
to block by or as if by bars: The police barred the exits in an attempt to prevent the thief's escape.
31.
to prevent or hinder: They barred her entrance to the club.
32.
to exclude or except: He was barred from membership because of his reputation.
33.
to mark with bars, stripes, or bands.
–preposition
34.
except; omitting; but: bar none.
—Idioms
35.
at bar, Law.
a.
before the court and being tried: a case at bar.
b.
before all the judges of a court: a trial at bar.
36.
behind bars, in jail: We wanted the criminal behind bars.
[Origin: 1175–1225; ME barre < OF < VL *barra rod, of obscure, perh. of pre-L orig.]
—Related forms
barless, adjective
bar·ra·ble, adjective
—Synonyms 1. rod, pole. 5. shoal, reef, bank, sand bar. 6. deterrent, stop. Bar,barrier,barricade mean something put in the way of advance. Bar has the general meaning of hindrance or obstruction: a bar across the doorway. Barrier suggests an impediment to progress or a defensive obstruction (natural or artificial): a trade barrier; a mountain barrier; a road barrier. A barricade is esp. a pile of articles hastily gathered or a rude earthwork for protection in street fighting: a barricade of wooden boxes. 7. saloon, café; cocktail lounge. 30, 31. obstruct, deter, impede, barricade. 32. eliminate.
Browning automatic rifle
n.
Abbr. BAR
A .30-caliber air-cooled, automatic or semiautomatic, gas-operated, magazine-fed rifle used by U.S. troops in World Wars I and II and the Korean War.
c.1175, "stake or rod of iron used to fasten a door or gate," from O.Fr. barre, from V.L. *barra "bar, barrier," which some suggest is from Gaulish *barros "the bushy end," but OED regards this as "discredited" because it "in no way suits the sense." Bar code first recorded 1963. Behind bars "in prison" is from 1951. Meaning "bank of sand across a harbor or river mouth" is from 1586, so called because it was an obstruction to navigation.
"tavern," 1592, from the bars of the barrier or counter over which drinks or food were served to customers (see bar (1)). Barmaid is from 1772; bar-tender is 1836, Amer.Eng.; barfly "habitual drunkard" is from 1910.
"whole body of lawyers, the legal profession," 1559, a sense which derives ultimately from the railing that separated benchers from the hall in the Inns of Court. Students who had attained a certain standing were "called" to it to take part in the important exercises of the house. After c.1600, however, this was popularly assumed to mean the bar in a courtroom, which was the wooden railing marking off the area around the judge's seat, where prisoners stood for arraignment and where a barrister (q.v.) stood to plead. As the place where the business of court was done, bar in this sense had become synonymous with "court" by c.1330.
a room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter; "he drowned his sorrows in whiskey at the bar" [syn: barroom]
2.
a counter where you can obtain food or drink; "he bought a hot dog and a coke at the bar"
3.
a rigid piece of metal or wood; usually used as a fastening or obstruction or weapon; "there were bars in the windows to prevent escape"
4.
musical notation for a repeating pattern of musical beats; "the orchestra omitted the last twelve bars of the song" [syn: measure]
5.
an obstruction (usually metal) placed at the top of a goal; "it was an excellent kick but the ball hit the bar"
6.
the act of preventing; "there was no bar against leaving"; "money was allocated to study the cause and prevention of influenza" [syn: prevention]
7.
(meteorology) a unit of pressure equal to a million dynes per square centimeter; "unfortunately some writers have used bar for one dyne per square centimeter"
8.
a submerged (or partly submerged) ridge in a river or along a shore; "the boat ran aground on a submerged bar in the river"
9.
the body of individuals qualified to practice law in a particular jurisdiction; "he was admitted to the bar in New Jersey" [syn: legal profession]
10.
a narrow marking of a different color or texture from the background; "a green toad with small black stripes or bars"; "may the Stars and Stripes forever wave" [syn: stripe]
11.
a block of solid substance (such as soap or wax); "a bar of chocolate" [syn: cake]
12.
a portable .30 caliber automatic rifle operated by gas pressure and fed by cartridges from a magazine; used by United States troops in World War I and in World War II and in the Korean War [syn: Browning automatic rifle]
13.
a horizontal rod that serves as a support for gymnasts as they perform exercises
14.
a heating element in an electric fire; "an electric fire with three bars"
15.
(law) a railing that encloses the part of the courtroom where the judges and lawyers sit and the case is tried; "spectators were not allowed past the bar"
verb
1.
prevent from entering; keep out; "He was barred from membership in the club"
2.
render unsuitable for passage; "block the way"; "barricade the streets"; "stop the busy road" [syn: barricade]
3.
expel, as if by official decree; "he was banished from his own country" [syn: banish]
4.
secure with, or as if with, bars; "He barred the door" [ant: unbar]
A unit used to measure atmospheric pressure. It is equal to a force of 100,000 newtons per square meter of surface area, or 0.987 atmosphere.
An elongated, offshore ridge of sand, gravel, or other unconsolidated sediment, formed by the action of waves or long-shore currents and submerged at least during high tide. Bars are especially common near the mouths of rivers or estuaries.
A ridgelike mound of sand, gravel or silt formed within a stream, along its banks, or at its mouth. Bars form where the stream's current slows down, causing sediment to be deposited.
Bar Harbor, ME (CDP, FIPS 2830) Location: 44.38242 N, 68.21187 W Population (1990): 2768 (1537 housing units) Area: 8.2 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 04609
Bar Nunn, WY (town, FIPS 5248) Location: 42.92621 N, 106.34633 W Population (1990): 835 (291 housing units) Area: 5.3 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Diamond Bar, CA (city, FIPS 19192) Location: 33.99940 N, 117.81428 W Population (1990): 53672 (17664 housing units) Area: 39.1 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 91765, 91789
Big Bar, CA Zip code(s): 96010
Goodyears Bar, CA Zip code(s): 95944
Sawyers Bar, CA Zip code(s): 96027
Scott Bar, CA Zip code(s): 96085
Somes Bar, CA Zip code(s): 95568
Gold Bar, WA (town, FIPS 27365) Location: 47.85775 N, 121.69570 W Population (1990): 1078 (431 housing units) Area: 1.5 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
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