barrier en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈbaɾe.əɾ/ (Scotland)
- /ˈbaɹɪjə/ (British, Southern, Standard)
- /ˈbɛɹi.ɚ/ Mary–marry–merry merger
- /ˈbæɹi.ɚ/ without the Mary–marry–merry merger
- /ˈbæɹi.ə/ (Australia)
- /ˈbɛɹi.ə/ (New-Zealand)
- (US) audio
- /ˈbæɹi.ə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈbaɾi.ə/ (Wales)
Etymology
From Middle English barrer, barrere, barryȝer, from Anglo-Norman barrere (compare French barrière), from barre (“bar”).
Meanings
-
A structure that bars passage.
The bus went through a railway barrier and was hit by a train.
The bomber had passed through one checkpoint before blowing himself up at a second barrier.
-
An obstacle or impediment.
America’s poverty line is $63 a day for a family of four. In the richer parts of the emerging world $4 a day is the poverty barrier. But poverty’s scourge is fiercest below $1.25 ([…]): people below that level live lives that are poor, nasty, brutish and short.
2013 June 1, “Towards the end of poverty”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 11:If there's one thing the history of evolution has taught us is that life will not be contained- life breaks free, it expands to new territories, and it crashes through barriers, painfully, maybe even dangerously but,... uh... well, there it is.
1993, Jurassic Park, Universal Pictures, →OCLC:Even a small fee can be a barrier for some students.
-
A boundary or limit.
Few marathon runners break the three-hour time barrier.
The downside of normalization is that it erects a defensive barrier between the real world and the perceived i.e. normalized world.
2025 April 21, Charles Hugh Smith, What's "Normal" in a Hyper-Normalized World?:
- A node (in government and binding theory) said to intervene between other nodes A and B if it is a potential governor for B, c-commands B, and does not c-command A.
- A separation between two areas of the body where specialized cells allow the entry of certain substances but prevent the entry of others.
- (historical) The lists in a tournament.
- (historical, in-plural) A martial exercise of the 15th and 16th centuries.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| barriers | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
barrier reef · barrier ridge · memory barrier · tariff barrier · barrier method · sonic barrier · half-barrier · barrier cream · color barrier · Schottky barrier · Great Barrier Reef · cyberbarrier · metabarrier · police barrier · Weismann barrier · barrier troops · noise barrier · immunobarrier · death barrier · racial barrier · security barrier · underbarrier · biobarrier · diffusion-barrier · traffic barrier · tire barrier · heat barrier · species barrier · barristor · non-tariff barrier · Jersey barrier · vapor barrier · ticket barrier · trade barrier · blood-brain barrier · jersey barrier · barrier rogue · tyre barrier · superbarrier · crush barrier · tilt barrier · light barrier · ice barrier · crowd control barrier · barrier lake · allobarrier · automatic half-barrier level crossing · boom barrier · toll barrier · Einstein barrier · acoustic barrier · barrier board · New Jersey barrier · barrierless · barrier island · crash barrier · barrier to trade · Great Barrier Island · Coulomb barrier · barrierlike · nanobarrier · multibarrier · time barrier · hematoencephalic barrier · language barrier · barrier to entry · barrier nursing · subbarrier · sound barrier
Translations (172)
et tõke (obstacle or impediment) · cs bariéra (obstacle or impediment) · he מַחְסוֹם (structure that bars passage) · kk кедергі (obstacle or impediment) · pl przeszkoda (obstacle or impediment) · gl barreira (obstacle or impediment) · ro barieră (structure that bars passage) · sh пре̏града (obstacle or impediment) · be шлагба́ум (structure that bars passage) · el φράγμα (structure that bars passage) · id sawar (boundary or limit) · id palang (structure that bars passage) · pl bariera (structure that bars passage) · mk пречка (obstacle or impediment) · el φράγμα (obstacle or impediment) · fa مانع (obstacle or impediment) · nl barrière (structure that bars passage) · uk шлагба́ум (structure that bars passage) · kk бөгет (obstacle or impediment) · be лімі́т (boundary or limit) · af hindernis (obstacle or impediment) · kk тосқауыл (obstacle or impediment) · be перапо́на (obstacle or impediment) · uk лімі́т (boundary or limit) · sh prȅpreka (obstacle or impediment) · hu akadály (obstacle or impediment) · ar حَاجِز (structure that bars passage) · fr barrière (obstacle or impediment) · pl bariera (boundary or limit) · gl barreira (boundary or limit) · be перагаро́да (obstacle or impediment) · sh barijéra (structure that bars passage) · sl ovira (obstacle or impediment) · pt obstáculo (obstacle or impediment) · cmn 邊界 /边界 (boundary or limit) · wa aroke (obstacle or impediment) · uk бар'є́р (obstacle or impediment) · gl límite (boundary or limit) · wa limotche (boundary or limit) · da barriere (structure that bars passage) · io barilo (obstacle or impediment) · pl barierka (structure that bars passage) · hy արգելք (obstacle or impediment) · ru преде́л (boundary or limit) · be бар'ер (structure that bars passage) · wa bårire (structure that bars passage) · wa xhame el voye (obstacle or impediment) · ar حَاجِز (obstacle or impediment) · ja 障壁 (structure that bars passage) · sw kizuizi (obstacle or impediment) · de Absperrung (structure that bars passage) · uk перепо́на (obstacle or impediment) · id rintangan (obstacle or impediment) · be бар'е́р (obstacle or impediment) · ja 障害 (obstacle or impediment) · fi aita (structure that bars passage) · sh пре̏прека (obstacle or impediment) · sk bariéra (obstacle or impediment) · ru прегра́да (obstacle or impediment) · de Hindernis (obstacle or impediment) · da barriere (obstacle or impediment) · be перашко́да (obstacle or impediment) · cmn 柵欄 /栅栏 (structure that bars passage) · es barrera (obstacle or impediment) · it limite (boundary or limit) · fr barrière (structure that bars passage) · da grænse (boundary or limit) · gl barreira (structure that bars passage) · ru барье́р (obstacle or impediment) · uk перешко́да (obstacle or impediment) · sv spärr (structure that bars passage) · mk барие́ра (obstacle or impediment) · ru грани́ца (boundary or limit) · de Schranke (structure that bars passage) · gd bacadh (obstacle or impediment) · de Grenze (boundary or limit) · gd bacadh (structure that bars passage) · nl versperring (structure that bars passage) · pl bariera (obstacle or impediment) · eo barilo (structure that bars passage) · et barjäär (obstacle or impediment) · ro barieră (obstacle or impediment) · sv barriär (structure that bars passage) · wa håjhe (structure that bars passage) · sk prekážka (obstacle or impediment) · sh prȅgrada (obstacle or impediment) · mk барие́ра (structure that bars passage) · eo baro (obstacle or impediment) · fr frontière (boundary or limit) · da forhindring (obstacle or impediment) · hu csapórúd (structure that bars passage) · de Hürde (obstacle or impediment) · nb sperring (structure that bars passage) · fi este (structure that bars passage) · cs bariéra (boundary or limit) · ru барье́р (structure that bars passage) · tg монеа (obstacle or impediment) · sh барије́ра (structure that bars passage) · cs překážka (obstacle or impediment) · cmn 障 (obstacle or impediment) · cs bariéra (structure that bars passage) · ca barrera (structure that bars passage) · da afspærring (structure that bars passage) · sw kizuizi (boundary or limit) · nb bom (structure that bars passage) · pdt Hindaniss (obstacle or impediment) · eo barilo (obstacle or impediment) · de Barriere (structure that bars passage) · et tõkkepuu (structure that bars passage) · sl pregrada (obstacle or impediment) · it barriera (structure that bars passage) · mn саад (obstacle or impediment) · cmn 障 (boundary or limit) · pt barreira (structure that bars passage) · sw kizuizi (structure that bars passage) · az sədd (obstacle or impediment) · he מַחְסוֹם (boundary or limit) · hu sorompó (structure that bars passage) · ko 장애 (obstacle or impediment) · de Schlagbaum (structure that bars passage) · ru шлагба́ум (structure that bars passage) · uk бар'є́р (structure that bars passage) · et piir (boundary or limit) · uk межа́ (boundary or limit) · cmn 障礙 /障碍 (obstacle or impediment) · fi raja (boundary or limit) · hi बाधा (obstacle or impediment) · ru лими́т (boundary or limit) · fi este (obstacle or impediment) · nn bom (structure that bars passage) · be мяжа́ (boundary or limit) · wa håjhea (structure that bars passage) · sv bom (structure that bars passage) · de Sperre (structure that bars passage) · sh prȅpona (obstacle or impediment) · et barjäär (structure that bars passage) · bg прегра́да (obstacle or impediment) · sv gräns (boundary or limit) · tg садд (obstacle or impediment) · it barriera (obstacle or impediment) · ko 장벽 (structure that bars passage) · kmr berbest (structure that bars passage) · io barilo (structure that bars passage) · bg препя́тствие (obstacle or impediment) · bg преде́л (boundary or limit) · nl barrière (obstacle or impediment) · wa frontire (boundary or limit) · nn sperring (structure that bars passage) · rif afray (structure that bars passage) · id batas (boundary or limit) · hy պատնեշ (structure that bars passage) · ar عَقَبَة (obstacle or impediment) · pt limite (boundary or limit) · de Barriere (obstacle or impediment) · ru препя́тствие (obstacle or impediment) · fr limite (boundary or limit) · fa سد (obstacle or impediment) · bg гра́ница (boundary or limit) · vi chướng ngại (obstacle or impediment) · bg барие́ра (obstacle or impediment) · bg барие́ра (structure that bars passage) · id pembatas (structure that bars passage) · es barrera (structure that bars passage) · hi रुकावट (obstacle or impediment) · nl slagboom (structure that bars passage) · egy s-b-x:t-O14 (structure that bars passage) · ga fál (structure that bars passage) · ka ბარიერი (structure that bars passage) · cmn 障 (structure that bars passage) · af versperring (structure that bars passage) · mk препрека (obstacle or impediment) · sh пре̏пона (obstacle or impediment)