barrack
/ˈbæɹ.ək/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.79 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A building for soldiers, especially within a garrison; originally referred to temporary huts, now usually to a permanent structure or set of buildings.
noun
A primitive structure resembling a long shed or barn for (usually temporary) housing or other purposes.
Example Sentences
- "Before the gates of Bari, he lodged in a miserable hut or barrack, composed of dry branches, and thatched with straw; a perilous station, on all sides open to the inclemency of the winter and the spears of the enemy."
- "1919, House Committee on Military Affairs, Army Reorganization: Hearings Before the Committee on Military Affairs, House of Representatives, 66th Congress, 1st Session, on H.R. 8287, H.R. 8068, H.R. 7925, H.R. 8870, Sept. 3, 1919-Nov. 12, 1919, Parts 23-43, page 1956, How do you distinguish between the disciplinary barracks and the penitentiary? Where are the disciplinary barracks ?"
- "I know the barracks at the training camp out on the moors."
- "Where the men were barracked alone, unnatural crime prevailed : where the women were barracked, contrivances were made to render such a place a brothel."
- "I knew that he had been barracked at times, but I did not realise that he was so sensitive."
- "Some people stopped concentrating on the piece altogether, some started barracking and heckling, while others began chatting to one another."
Etymology
Borrowed from French baraque, from Spanish barraca or Catalan barraca, which is of uncertain origin. It is probably either a diminutive of Vulgar Latin *barra (“bar”), of unclear origin, or a diminutive of Vulgar Latin *barrum (“clay, mud”) from Celtiberian or Paleo-Hispanic.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈbæɹ.ək/
- British English: /ˈbæɹ.ək/
Usage
- American usage
- Colloquial
- Transitive verb
- Intransitive verb
- British usage
- Australian usage
- New Zealand usage