barb
1a point or pointed part projecting backward from a main point, as of a fishhook or arrowhead.
an obviously or openly unpleasant or cutting remark.
Botany, Zoology. a hooked or sharp bristle.
Ornithology. one of the processes attached to the rachis of a feather.
one of a breed of domestic pigeons, similar to the carriers or homers, having a short, broad bill.
any of numerous, small, Old World cyprinid fishes of the genera Barbus and Puntius, often kept in aquariums.
Usually barbs. Veterinary Pathology. a small protuberance under the tongue in horses and cattle, especially when inflamed and swollen.
Also barbe. a linen covering for the throat and breast, formerly worn by women mourners and now only by some nuns.
Obsolete. a beard.
to furnish with a barb or barbs.
Origin of barb
1Other words for barb
Other definitions for barb (2 of 3)
one of a breed of horses raised originally in Barbary.
Origin of barb
2Other definitions for barb (3 of 3)
Origin of barb
3Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use barb in a sentence
Rather than trying to craft your own Bisset barbs, you can just impress your friends with these Twitter zingers.
Hollywood's Morning After: Emma Watson’s Pants and More | Amy Zimmerman | January 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhile local and national officials traded barbs over who screwed up in Rio, Francis made the most of the mishap.
‘Viva Papa Francisco!’ Brazil Celebrates Pope’s Trip | Mac Margolis | July 23, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTMitt Romney is a goofy, clueless aristocrat who trades barbs with his sassy African-American butler.
The Seven Best Reality TV Shows Mitt Romney Could Make | Matt Latimer | November 12, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThe ads are just two in a long string of attack barbs the two camps have launched at each other.
Obama’s New Attack Ads Hit Mitt Romney’s Statehouse Record | Daniel Stone | June 20, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTMale water striders are clearly adapted for marathon sex: they have hooks and barbs to keep them attached to females.
‘Zoobiquity’: What Animals Can Teach Us About Our Health | Carl Zimmer | June 17, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
In this paper I string these barbs to the bow of motherhood, and trust they may pierce to the joints of the harness.
The Quiver 3/1900 | AnonymousThe hunter then threw his spear, made with three barbs of different lengths, and caught the duck on the sharp central prong.
Historic Adventures | Rupert S. HollandThen he pulled out two cleverly-carved bone barbs, which he fitted on the forks and fastened by sinews to the staff.
Northwest! | Harold BindlossThere was a sort of socket in the upper end of it, and the points of the two pieces of horn were formed into barbs.
Cruisings in the Cascades | George O. ShieldsA horn spear, with barbs, and a fine shell sinker, shows that they lived on fish.
The Romantic Settlement of Lord Selkirk's Colonists | George Bryce
British Dictionary definitions for barb (1 of 4)
/ (bɑːb) /
a subsidiary point facing in the opposite direction to the main point of a fish-hook, harpoon, arrow, etc, intended to make extraction difficult
any of various pointed parts, as on barbed wire
a cutting remark; gibe
any of the numerous hairlike filaments that form the vane of a feather
a beardlike growth in certain animals
a hooked hair or projection on certain fruits
any small cyprinid fish of the genus Barbus (or Puntius) and related genera, such as B. conchonius (rosy barb)
(usually plural) any of the small fleshy protuberances beneath the tongue in horses and cattle
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
obsolete a beard
(tr) to provide with a barb or barbs
Origin of barb
1Derived forms of barb
- barbed, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for barb (2 of 4)
/ (bɑːb) /
a breed of horse of North African origin, similar to the Arab but less spirited
Origin of barb
2British Dictionary definitions for barb (3 of 4)
/ (bɑːb) /
Australian a black kelpie: See kelpie 1
Origin of barb
3British Dictionary definitions for BARB (4 of 4)
/ (bɑːb) /
Broadcasters' Audience Research Board
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for barb
[ bärb ]
A sharp point projecting backward, as on the stinger of a bee.
One of the hairlike branches on the shaft of a feather.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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