BAR


Meaning of BAR in English

/ bɑː(r); NAmE / noun , verb , preposition

■ noun

FOR DRINKS / FOOD

1.

[ C ] a place where you can buy and drink alcoholic and other drinks :

We met at a bar called the Flamingo.

the island's only licensed bar (= one that is allowed to sell alcoholic drinks)

a cocktail bar

( BrE )

I found David in the bar of the Red Lion (= a room in a pub where drinks are served) .

—see also barroom , lounge bar , minibar , public bar , saloon bar

2.

[ C ] a long wide wooden surface where drinks, etc. are served :

She was sitting at the bar.

It was so crowded I couldn't get to the bar.

3.

[ C ] (especially in compounds) a place in which a particular kind of food or drink is the main thing that is served :

a sandwich bar

a coffee bar

—see also oxygen bar , snack bar , wine bar

OF CHOCOLATE / SOAP

4.

[ C ] a piece of sth with straight sides :

a bar of chocolate / soap

candy bars

OF METAL / WOOD

5.

[ C ] a long straight piece of metal or wood. Bars are often used to stop sb from getting through a space :

He smashed the window with an iron bar.

All the ground floor windows were fitted with bars.

a five-bar gate (= one made with five horizontal bars of wood)

—picture at bar-bell , high jump

—see also bull bars , roll bar , space bar , tow bar

IN ELECTRIC FIRE

6.

[ C ] a piece of metal with wire wrapped around it that becomes red and hot when electricity is passed through it

IN SPORTS

7.

the bar [ sing. ] the crossbar of a goal :

His shot hit the bar.

OF COLOUR / LIGHT

8.

[ C ] a band of colour or light :

Bars of sunlight slanted down from the tall narrow windows.

THAT PREVENTS STH

9.

[ C , usually sing. ] bar (to sth) a thing that stops sb from doing sth :

At that time being a woman was a bar to promotion in most professions.

—see also colour bar

IN MUSIC

10.

( BrE ) ( NAmE meas·ure ) [ C ] one of the short sections of equal length that a piece of music is divided into, and the notes that are in it :

four beats to the bar

the opening bars of a piece of music

—picture at music

LAW

11.

the Bar [ sing. ] ( BrE ) the profession of barrister (= a lawyer in a higher court) :

to be called to the Bar (= allowed to work as a qualified barrister )

12.

the Bar [ sing. ] ( NAmE ) the profession of any kind of lawyer

MEASUREMENT

13.

a unit for measuring the pressure of the atmosphere, equal to a hundred thousand newtons per square metre

—see also millibar

IDIOMS

- not have a bar of sth

- behind bars

■ verb

( -rr- ) [ vn ]

CLOSE WITH BARS

1.

[ usually passive ] to close sth with a bar or bars :

All the doors and windows were barred.

BLOCK

2.

to block a road, path, etc. so that nobody can pass :

Two police officers were barring her exit.

We found our way barred by rocks.

PREVENT

3.

bar sb (from sth / from doing sth) to ban or prevent sb from doing sth :

The players are barred from drinking alcohol the night before a match.

IDIOMS

see hold noun

■ preposition

except for sb/sth :

The students all attended, bar two who were ill.

It's the best result we've ever had, bar none (= none was better) .

IDIOMS

see shouting

••

VOCABULARY BUILDING

a bar of chocolate

If you want to describe a whole unit of a particular substance, or a group of things that are normally together, for example when you buy them, you need to use the correct word.

a bar of soap / chocolate; a candy bar

a block of ice / stone / wood

a bolt / roll / length of fabric

a cube of ice / sugar; an ice / sugar cube

a loaf of bread

a roll of film / carpet

a slab of marble / concrete

a stick of gum

a bunch of bananas / grapes

a bunch / bouquet of flowers

a bundle of papers / sticks

a set / bunch of keys

a set of chairs / glasses / clothes / guitar strings

••

WORD ORIGIN

noun senses 1 to 12 and verb Middle English : from Old French barre (noun), barrer (verb), of unknown origin.

noun sense 13 early 20th cent.: from Greek baros weight.

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.