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barrel

Pronunciation: /ˈbar(ə)l/
Translate barrel | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of barrel

noun

  • 1a cylindrical container bulging out in the middle, traditionally made of wooden staves with metal hoops round them: the wine is then matured in old barrels
  • a barrel together with its contents:a barrel of beer
  • a measure of capacity used for oil and beer, usually equal to 36 imperial gallons for beer and 35 imperial gallons or 42 US gallons (roughly 159 litres) for oil: the well was producing 10,000 barrels a day
  • 2a cylindrical tube forming part of an object such as a gun or a pen:a gun barrel
  • 3the belly and loins of a four-legged animal such as a horse: a Welsh mountain pony with a barrel like a butt of wine

verb (barrels, barrelling, barrelled; North American barrels, barreling, barreled)

  • 1 [no object, with adverbial of direction] informal, chiefly North American drive or move in a way that is so fast as to almost be out of control:they shot him and then barreled away in the truck
  • 2 [with object] put into a barrel or barrels: when the young spirit is barrelled, it absorbs some of this flavour

Phrases

a barrel of laughs

[with negative] informal a source of amusement or pleasure:life is not exactly a barrel of laughs at the moment

over a barrel

informal in a helpless position; at someone’s mercy: I like doing business with a man who knows he’s over a barrel

with both barrels

informal with unrestrained force or emotion: cut to the quick, he let go with both barrels

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French baril, from medieval Latin barriclus 'small cask'

Spelling help

Spell barrel with a double r and a single l.

barrel in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of barrel in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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