bar

noun
/bɑː/

A solid, more or less rigid object of metal or wood with a uniform cross-section smaller than its length.

Example

“The window was protected by steel bars.”

Other meanings

A solid metal object with uniform (round, square, hexagonal, octagonal or rectangular) cross-section; in the US its smallest dimension is inch or greater, a piece of thinner material being called a strip.
“Ancient Sparta used iron bars instead of handy coins in more valuable alloy, to physically discourage the use of money.”
A cuboid piece of any solid commodity.

A kind of

implement

Kinds of bar

bolt
core
grab bar
lever
rail
rotor
slice bar
towel rail

Example sentences

“There used to be a bar there.”
Tatoeba · shekitten · CC0
“He caught her eye from across the bar.”
Tatoeba · Igider · CC0
“Is there an open bar or a cash bar?”
Tatoeba · Miktsoanit · CC0

Word history

From Old French "barre" (beam, bar, gate, barrier).

Where this comes from

This definition is adapted from “bar” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above; related-word lists use Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0, based on Princeton WordNet), published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.