Dictionary

barbell en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈbɑɹˌbɛl/ (General-American)
• (US) audio

Etymology

Blend of bar + dumbbell. The piercing is named after the exercise equipment, because of the visual resemblance.

Meanings

1. A wide steel bar with premeasured weights counterpoised at either end, with the central span open for the hands of the weightlifter.
   • The in-house gym included “squat racks” for weight lifting, with iron barbells branded with “Thinking Machines” in bold white typeface. 2026 January 22, Cade Metz, Kalley Huang, Mike Isaac, “The A.I. Start-Up Soap Opera Riveting Silicon Valley”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 Jan 2026:
2. A piece of jewellery composed of a straight bar with a bead on each end, used as a piercing.

Forms

Deriveds

barbell cushion · barbell pad · barbell bar pad · barbell rack · nanobarbell

Relateds

kettlebell · dumbbell

Synonyms

weight bar

Translations (48)

fa وزنه (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · fi levytanko (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · uk шта́нга (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · cy barbel (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · sh štánga (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · de Langhantel (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · ko 바벨 (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · hy ծանրաձող (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · sl dvoročna palica (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · tr halter (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · pl sztanga (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · cmn 槓鈴 /杠铃 (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · es barra (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · lt štanga (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · es barra con pesas (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · tl barbel (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · ko 역기 (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · lv svaru stienis (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · cy barbwysau (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · nb vektstang (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · it bilanciere (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · et tõstekang (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · sv skivstång (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · cs činka (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · fr haltère (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · ro halteră (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · sk činka (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · ca barra (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · be шта́нга (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · fr barre à disques (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · is lóðastöng (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · pt barra (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · ar بَرْبِل (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · es haltera (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · id barbel (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · fa هالتر (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · ru шта́нга (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · et kang (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · sh шта́нга (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · de Hantel (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · bg ща́нга (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · az ştanq (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · az ştanqa (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · eo halterego (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · tl pesas (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · hu súlyzórúd (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · kk зілтемір (wide steel bar with premeasured weights) · ja バーベル (wide steel bar with premeasured weights)