noun
1.
a point or pointed part projecting backward from a main point, as of a fishhook or arrowhead. See illus. under fishhook.
2.
an obviously or openly unpleasant or carping remark.
3.
Botany, Zoology. a hooked or sharp bristle.
4.
Ornithology. one of the processes attached to the rachis of a feather. See illus. under feather.
5.
one of a breed of domestic pigeons, similar to the carriers or homers, having a short, broad bill.
6.
any of numerous, small, Old World cyprinid fishes of the genera Barbus and Puntius, often kept in aquariums.
7.
Usually, barbs. Veterinary Pathology. a small protuberance under the tongue in horses and cattle, especially when inflamed and swollen.
8.
Also, barbe. a linen covering for the throat and breast, formerly worn by women mourners and now only by some nuns.
9.
Obsolete. a beard.
verb (used with object)
10.
to furnish with a barb or barbs.
00:10
Barb
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
| to run away hurriedly; flee. |
| to flee; abscond: |
Synonyms
1. spur, spike, prong, barbule; snag, prickle, spicule.
1. spur, spike, prong, barbule; snag, prickle, spicule.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To barb
Collins
World English Dictionary
barb1 (bɑːb) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a subsidiary point facing in the opposite direction to the main point of a fish-hook, harpoon, arrow, etc, intended to make extraction difficult |
| 2. | any of various pointed parts, as on barbed wire |
| 3. | a cutting remark; gibe |
| 4. | any of the numerous hairlike filaments that form the vane of a feather |
| 5. | a beardlike growth in certain animals |
| 6. | a hooked hair or projection on certain fruits |
| 7. | any small cyprinid fish of the genus Barbus (or Puntius) and related genera, such as B. conchonius (rosy barb) |
| 8. | (usually plural) any of the small fleshy protuberances beneath the tongue in horses and cattle |
| 9. | a white linen cloth forming part of a headdress extending from the chin to the upper chest, originally worn by women in the Middle Ages, now worn by nuns of some orders |
| 10. | obsolete a beard |
| —vb | |
| 11. | (tr) to provide with a barb or barbs |
| [C14: from Old French barbe beard, point, from Latin barba beard] | |
| barbed1 | |
| —adj | |
| barb2 (bɑːb) | |
| —n | |
| a breed of horse of North African origin, similar to the Arab but less spirited | |
| [C17: from French barbe, from Italian barbero a Barbary (horse)] | |
| barb3 (bɑːb) | |
| —n | |
| (Austral) See kelpie a black kelpie | |
| [C19: named after one that was named Barb after a winning racehorse] | |
| BARB (bɑːb) | |
| —n acronym for | |
| Broadcasters' Audience Research Board | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
barb
late 14c., from O.Fr. barbe (11c.) "beard, beardlike appendage," from L. barba "beard," cognate with O.E. beard.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
barb  (bärb) Pronunciation Key
|
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
barb definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences
The stingray's spine, or barb, can be ominously fashioned with serrated edges and a sharp point.
The ray also deters would-be attackers with a sharp, venomous tail barb.
The barb is covered with a sheath of toxin that is injected into a wound.
All of us needs a sharp barb now an then, to lance ignorance and complacency.
Nearby Words
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