51³Ô¹Ï

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barb

1

[ bahrb ]

noun

  1. a point or pointed part projecting backward from a main point, as of a fishhook or arrowhead.

    Synonyms: , , , , , ,

  2. an obviously or openly unpleasant or cutting remark.
  3. Botany, Zoology. a hooked or sharp bristle.
  4. Ornithology. one of the processes attached to the rachis of a feather.
  5. one of a breed of domestic pigeons, similar to the carriers or homers, having a short, broad bill.
  6. any of numerous, small, Old World cyprinid fishes of the genera Barbus and Puntius, often kept in aquariums.
  7. Usually barbs. Veterinary Pathology. a small protuberance under the tongue in horses and cattle, especially when inflamed and swollen.
  8. Also a linen covering for the throat and breast, formerly worn by women mourners and now only by some nuns.
  9. Obsolete. a beard.


verb (used with object)

  1. to furnish with a barb or barbs.

barb

2

[ bahrb ]

noun

  1. one of a breed of horses raised originally in Barbary.

barb

3

[ bahrb ]

noun

Slang.

BARB

1

/ ²úɑ˲ú /

acronym for

  1. 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

barb

2

/ ²úɑ˲ú /

noun

  1. a subsidiary point facing in the opposite direction to the main point of a fish-hook, harpoon, arrow, etc, intended to make extraction difficult
  2. any of various pointed parts, as on barbed wire
  3. a cutting remark; gibe
  4. any of the numerous hairlike filaments that form the vane of a feather
  5. a beardlike growth in certain animals
  6. a hooked hair or projection on certain fruits
  7. any small cyprinid fish of the genus Barbus (or Puntius ) and related genera, such as B. conchonius ( rosy barb )
  8. usually plural any of the small fleshy protuberances beneath the tongue in horses and cattle
  9. 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
  10. obsolete.
    a beard
“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

verb

  1. tr to provide with a barb or barbs
“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

barb

3

/ ²úɑ˲ú /

noun

  1. a breed of horse of North African origin, similar to the Arab but less spirited
“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

barb

4

/ ²úɑ˲ú /

noun

  1. a black kelpie See kelpie 1
“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

barb

/ ²úä°ù²ú /

  1. A sharp point projecting backward, as on the stinger of a bee.
  2. One of the hairlike branches on the shaft of a feather.
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Derived Forms

  • barbed, adjective
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51³Ô¹Ï History and Origins

Origin of barb1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English barbe “beard, pleated cloth, barb (of an arrow),†from Middle French, Old French barbe, from Latin barba beard

Origin of barb2

First recorded in 1600–10; from French barbe, shortened form of Italian barbero “Barbary steed,†equivalent to Barber(ia) “Barbary†+ -o masculine noun suffix

Origin of barb3

First recorded in 1955–60; by shortening
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51³Ô¹Ï History and Origins

Origin of barb1

C14: from Old French barbe beard, point, from Latin barba beard

Origin of barb2

C17: from French barbe , from Italian barbero a Barbary (horse)

Origin of barb3

C19: named after one that was named Barb after a winning racehorse
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

McCoy — who intends to join the Saturday protest — said she’s gotten cheers and barbs from fellow residents, and she had two words of advice for a neighbor who gave her a hard time:

From

The Washington Post said Simpson was known for his “barbed wit†and “feistiness.â€

From

The barbed insult of “diversity hire†or “DEI hire†made them feel as though they didn’t quite belong despite their qualifications.

From

At a refugee camp in Greece in 2021, he decried our “age of walls and barbed wire.â€

From

Enclosed by walls topped with barbed wire, the workers' area of the compound was its own self-contained world, featuring a basketball court, supermarket and restaurants.

From

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