barrel
pronunciation
How to pronounce barrel in British English:
UK [ˈbærəl]
How to pronounce barrel in American English:
US [ˈbærəl]
-
- Noun:
- a tube through which a bullet travels when a gun is fired
- a cylindrical container that holds liquids
- a bulging cylindrical shape; hollow with flat ends
- the quantity that a barrel (of any size) will hold
- any of various units of capacity
-
- Verb:
- put in barrels
Word Origin
- barrel (n.)
- c. 1300, from Old French baril (12c.) "barrel, cask, vat," with cognates in all Romance languages (such as Italian barile, Spanish barril), but origin uncertain; perhaps from Gaulish, perhaps somehow related to bar (n.1). Meaning "metal tube of a gun" is from 1640s. Barrel roll in aeronautics is from 1927.
- barrel (v.)
- mid-15c., "to put in barrels," from barrel (n.). Meaning "to move quickly" is 1930, American English slang, perhaps suggestive of a rolling barrel. Related: Barreled; barreling.
Example
- 1. Oil dropped 84 cents to $ 49.30 a barrel .
- 2. I tongue the barrel into my cheek and say , tyler , you 're thinking of vampires .
- 3. This month , oil prices rose above one hundred dollars a barrel .
- 4. Then $ 100 a barrel could look like a bargain .
- 5. The f-35 is the biggest biscuit in its barrel , by far .