Dictionary

unbar en · VERB

Pronunciation

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Etymology

From Middle English unbarren, equivalent to un- + bar.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To unlock or unbolt a door that had been locked or bolted with a bar.
   • “No need to unbar gates to thee and me,” said the martlet, as they passed beneath the darkness of that ancient portal, carved with strange devices, and clean through the massy timbers of the bolted gate thickly riveted with silver, into the inner court. 1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, pages 1–2:
   • Only Enid could dare him at such a time, and even she felt occasionally that sinking of the heart which the bravest of tamers may experience as he unbars the gate of the cage. 1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “In which Professor Challenger Goes Forth to Battle”, in The Land of Mist, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, published 1926, →OCLC, page 212:
2. (transitive) To remove an impediment that obstructs the passage of (someone or something).
3. (transitive) To remove a prohibition.

Forms