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View synonyms for

barb

1

[ bahrb ]

noun

  1. a point or pointed part projecting backward from a main point, as of a fishhook or arrowhead.

    Synonyms: , , , , , ,

  2. an obviously or openly unpleasant or cutting remark.
  3. Botany, Zoology. a hooked or sharp bristle.
  4. Ornithology. one of the processes attached to the rachis of a feather.
  5. one of a breed of domestic pigeons, similar to the carriers or homers, having a short, broad bill.
  6. any of numerous, small, Old World cyprinid fishes of the genera Barbus and Puntius, often kept in aquariums.
  7. Usually barbs. Veterinary Pathology. a small protuberance under the tongue in horses and cattle, especially when inflamed and swollen.
  8. Also a linen covering for the throat and breast, formerly worn by women mourners and now only by some nuns.
  9. Obsolete. a beard.


verb (used with object)

  1. to furnish with a barb or barbs.

barb

2

[ bahrb ]

noun

  1. one of a breed of horses raised originally in Barbary.

barb

3

[ bahrb ]

noun

Slang.

BARB

1

/ ɑː /

acronym for

  1. Broadcasters' Audience Research Board
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

barb

2

/ ɑː /

noun

  1. a subsidiary point facing in the opposite direction to the main point of a fish-hook, harpoon, arrow, etc, intended to make extraction difficult
  2. any of various pointed parts, as on barbed wire
  3. a cutting remark; gibe
  4. any of the numerous hairlike filaments that form the vane of a feather
  5. a beardlike growth in certain animals
  6. a hooked hair or projection on certain fruits
  7. any small cyprinid fish of the genus Barbus (or Puntius ) and related genera, such as B. conchonius ( rosy barb )
  8. usually plural any of the small fleshy protuberances beneath the tongue in horses and cattle
  9. a white linen cloth forming part of a headdress extending from the chin to the upper chest, originally worn by women in the Middle Ages, now worn by nuns of some orders
  10. obsolete.
    a beard
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. tr to provide with a barb or barbs
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

barb

3

/ ɑː /

noun

  1. a breed of horse of North African origin, similar to the Arab but less spirited
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

barb

4

/ ɑː /

noun

  1. a black kelpie See kelpie 1
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

barb

/ ä /

  1. A sharp point projecting backward, as on the stinger of a bee.
  2. One of the hairlike branches on the shaft of a feather.
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Derived Forms

  • barbed, adjective
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yvlog History and Origins

Origin of barb1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English barbe “beard, pleated cloth, barb (of an arrow),” from Middle French, Old French barbe, from Latin barba beard

Origin of barb2

First recorded in 1600–10; from French barbe, shortened form of Italian barbero “Barbary steed,” equivalent to Barber(ia) “Barbary” + -o masculine noun suffix

Origin of barb3

First recorded in 1955–60; by shortening
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yvlog History and Origins

Origin of barb1

C14: from Old French barbe beard, point, from Latin barba beard

Origin of barb2

C17: from French barbe , from Italian barbero a Barbary (horse)

Origin of barb3

C19: named after one that was named Barb after a winning racehorse
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

McCoy — who intends to join the Saturday protest — said she’s gotten cheers and barbs from fellow residents, and she had two words of advice for a neighbor who gave her a hard time:

From

The Washington Post said Simpson was known for his “barbed wit” and “feistiness.”

From

The barbed insult of “diversity hire” or “DEI hire” made them feel as though they didn’t quite belong despite their qualifications.

From

At a refugee camp in Greece in 2021, he decried our “age of walls and barbed wire.”

From

Enclosed by walls topped with barbed wire, the workers' area of the compound was its own self-contained world, featuring a basketball court, supermarket and restaurants.

From

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