barrel

[ bar-uh l ]

/ ˈbær əl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR barrel ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a cylindrical wooden container with slightly bulging sides made of staves hooped together, and with flat, parallel ends.

the quantity that such a vessel of some standard size can hold: for most liquids, 31½ U.S. gallons (119 L); for petroleum, 42 U.S. gallons (159 L); for dry materials, 105 U.S. dry quarts (115 L). Abbreviation: bbl

any large quantity: a barrel of fun.

any container, case, or part similar to a wooden barrel in form.

Ordnance. the tube of a gun.

Machinery. the chamber of a pump in which the piston works.

a drum turning on a shaft, as in a weight-driven clock.

Horology. the cylindrical case in a watch or clock within which the mainspring is coiled.

Ornithology Obsolete. a calamus or quill.

the trunk of a quadruped, especially of a horse, cow, etc.

Nautical. the main portion of a capstan, about which the rope winds, between the drumhead at the top and the pawl rim at the bottom.

a rotating horizontal cylinder in which manufactured objects are coated or polished by tumbling in a suitable substance.

any structure having the form of a barrel vault.

Also called throat. Automotive. a passageway in a carburetor that has the shape of a Venturi tube.

verb (used with object), bar·reled, bar·rel·ing or (especially British) bar·relled, bar·rel·ling.

to put or pack in a barrel or barrels.

to finish (metal parts) by tumbling in a barrel.

Informal. to force to go or proceed at high speed: He barreled his car through the dense traffic.

verb (used without object), bar·reled, bar·rel·ing or (especially British) bar·relled, bar·rel·ling.

Informal. to travel or drive very fast: to barrel along the highway.

Idioms for barrel

over a barrel, Informal. in a helpless, weak, or awkward position; unable to act: They really had us over a barrel when they foreclosed the mortgage.

Origin of barrel

1250–1300; Middle English barell < Anglo-French baril, Old French barril < Vulgar Latin *barrīculum, equivalent to *barrīc(a), perhaps derivative of Late Latin barra bar¹ + Latin -ulum -ule; compare Medieval Latin (circa 800) barriclus small cask

OTHER WORDS FROM barrel

half-bar·rel, noun un·bar·reled, adjective un·bar·relled, adjective

Words nearby barrel

barre, barred, barred i, barred owl, barred spiral galaxy, barrel, barrel bolt, barrel cactus, barrel chair, barrel chest, barrel cuff

British Dictionary definitions for over a barrel

barrel

/ (ˈbærəl) /

noun

a cylindrical container usually bulging outwards in the middle and held together by metal hoops; cask

Also called: barrelful the amount that a barrel can hold

a unit of capacity used in brewing, equal to 36 Imperial gallons

a unit of capacity used in the oil and other industries, normally equal to 42 US gallons or 35 Imperial gallons

a thing or part shaped like a barrel, esp a tubular part of a machine

the tube through which the projectile of a firearm is discharged

horology the cylindrical drum in a watch or clock that is rotated by the mainspring

the trunk of a four-legged animal the barrel of a horse

the quill of a feather

informal a large measure; a great deal (esp in the phrases barrel of fun, barrel of laughs)

Australian informal the hollow inner side of a wave

over a barrel informal powerless

scrape the barrel informal to be forced to use one's last and weakest resource

verb -rels, -relling or -relled or US -rels, -reling or -reled

(tr) to put into a barrel or barrels

(intr ; foll by along, in, etc) informal (intr) to travel or move very fast

Australian informal to ride on the inside of a wave

Word Origin for barrel

C14: from Old French baril perhaps from barre bar 1

Idioms and Phrases with over a barrel (1 of 2)

over a barrel

In a weak or difficult position, as in Once the competitors found a flaw in our product, they had us over a barrel. This slangy expression, first recorded in 1938, supposedly alludes to reviving a drowning victim by placing the body head down over a barrel and rolling it back and forth, so as to empty the lungs of water. The expression survives, although happily the practice does not.

Idioms and Phrases with over a barrel (2 of 2)

barrel

see both barrels; bottom of the barrel; cash on the barrelhead; like shooting fish in a barrel; lock, stock, and barrel; more fun than a barrel of monkeys; over a barrel; pork barrel; rotten apple (spoils the barrel).

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

barrel

noun

verb (used with object), bar·reled, bar·rel·ing or (especially British) bar·relled, bar·rel·ling.

verb (used without object), bar·reled, bar·rel·ing or (especially British) bar·relled, bar·rel·ling.

Idioms for barrel

Origin of barrel

OTHER WORDS FROM barrel

Words nearby barrel

British Dictionary definitions for over a barrel

noun

verb -rels, -relling or -relled or US -rels, -reling or -reled

Word Origin for barrel

Idioms and Phrases with over a barrel (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with over a barrel (2 of 2)

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

barrel

noun

verb (used with object), bar·reled, bar·rel·ing or (especially British) bar·relled, bar·rel·ling.

verb (used without object), bar·reled, bar·rel·ing or (especially British) bar·relled, bar·rel·ling.

Idioms for barrel

Origin of barrel

OTHER WORDS FROM barrel

Words nearby barrel

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for over a barrel

noun

verb -rels, -relling or -relled or US -rels, -reling or -reled

Word Origin for barrel

Idioms and Phrases with over a barrel (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with over a barrel (2 of 2)

British Dictionary definitions for over a barrel