barrier
/ˈbæɹi.ə/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.15 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An obstacle or impediment.
noun
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.
noun
A separation between two areas of the body where specialized cells allow the entry of certain substances but prevent the entry of others.
noun
The lists in a tournament.
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "Even a small fee can be a barrier for some students."
- "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."
- "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."
- "Few marathon runners break the three-hour time barrier."
Etymology
From Middle English barrer, barrere, barryȝer, from Anglo-Norman barrere (compare French barrière), from barre (“bar”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈbæɹi.ə/
- British English: /ˈbæɹi.ə/