ba rbed wi re N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Barbed wire is strong wire with sharp points sticking out of it, and is used to make fences. □ The factory was surrounded by barbed wire. □ …a barbed-wire fence.
bar|ber /bɑː r bə r / (barbers )
1 N‑COUNT A barber is a man whose job is cutting men's hair. □ He went to get his hair trimmed by the barber.
2 N‑SING A barber's is a shop where a barber works. [BRIT ] □ My Mum took me to the barber's. in AM, use barber shop
barber|shop /bɑː r bə r ʃɒp/ (barbershops )
1 N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Barbershop is a style of singing where a small group of people, usually men, sing in close harmony and without any musical instruments accompanying them. □ …a barbershop quartet.
2 → see barber shop
ba r|ber shop (barber shops ) in AM, also use barbershop N‑COUNT A barber shop is a shop where a barber works.
bar|bie /bɑː r bi/ (barbies ) N‑COUNT A barbie is a barbecue . [BRIT , AUSTRALIAN , INFORMAL ]
bar|bi|tu|rate /bɑː r b I tʃʊr I t/ (barbiturates ) N‑COUNT A barbiturate is a drug which people take to make them calm or to help them to sleep. □ She was addicted to barbiturates.
Bar-B-Q /bɑː r b I kjuː/ → see barbecue
ba r chart (bar charts ) N‑COUNT A bar chart is a graph which uses parallel rectangular shapes to represent changes in the size, value, or rate of something or to compare the amount of something relating to a number of different countries or groups. [mainly BRIT ] in AM, use bar graph
ba r code (bar codes ) also barcode N‑COUNT A bar code is an arrangement of numbers and parallel lines that is printed on products to be sold in shops. The bar code can be read by computers.
bard /bɑː r d/ (bards ) N‑COUNT A bard is a poet. [LITERARY or OLD-FASHIONED ]
Bard N‑PROPER People sometimes refer to William Shakespeare as the Bard . □ …a new production of the Bard's early tragedy, Richard III.
bare ◆◇◇ /beə r / (barer , barest , bares , baring , bared )
1 ADJ If a part of your body is bare , it is not covered by any clothing. □ She was wearing only a thin robe over a flimsy nightdress, and her feet were bare. □ She had bare arms and a bare neck.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A bare surface is not covered or decorated with anything. □ They would have liked bare wooden floors throughout the house.
3 ADJ If a tree or a branch is bare , it has no leaves on it. □ …an old, twisted tree, its bark shaggy, many of its limbs brittle and bare.
4 ADJ If a room, cupboard, or shelf is bare , it is empty. □ His fridge was bare apart from three very withered tomatoes. □ He led me through to a bare, draughty interviewing room.
5 ADJ An area of ground that is bare has no plants growing on it. □ That's probably the most bare, bleak, barren and inhospitable island I've ever seen.
6 ADJ If someone gives you the bare facts or the barest details of something, they tell you only the most basic and important things. □ Newspaper reporters were given nothing but the bare facts by the Superintendent in charge of the investigation.
7 ADJ If you talk about the bare minimum or the bare essentials, you mean the very least that is necessary. □ The army would try to hold the western desert with a bare minimum of forces. □ These are the bare essentials you'll need to dress your baby during the first few months.
8 ADJ Bare is used in front of an amount to emphasize how small it is. [EMPHASIS ] □ Sales are growing for premium wines, but at a bare 2 percent a year.
9 VERB If you bare something, you uncover it and show it. [WRITTEN ] □ [V n] Walsh bared his teeth in a grin.
10 bare bones → see bone
11 PHRASE If someone does something with their bare hands , they do it without using any weapons or tools. □ Police believe the killer punched her to death with his bare hands. □ Rescuers were using their bare hands to reach the trapped miners.
12 PHRASE If you lay something bare , you uncover it completely so that it can then be seen. □ The clearing out of disused workshops laid bare thousands of Italianate glazed tiles.
13 PHRASE If you lay bare something or someone, you reveal or expose them. □ No one wants to expose themselves, lay their feelings bare.
bare|back /beə r bæk/ ADV [ADV after v] If you ride bareback , you ride a horse without a saddle. □ I rode bareback to the paddock. ● ADJ [ADJ n] Bareback is also an adjective. □ She dreamed of being a bareback rider in a circus.
ba re-fa ced also barefaced ADJ [ADJ n] You use bare-faced to describe someone's behaviour when you want to emphasize that they do not care that they are behaving wrongly. [EMPHASIS ] □ What bare-faced cheek! □ …crooked politicians who tell bare-faced lies.
bare|foot /beə r fʊt/ also barefooted ADJ [v-link ADJ , ADJ after v, ADJ n] Someone who is barefoot or barefooted is not wearing anything on their feet. □ I wore a white dress and was barefoot. □ …shivering with cold and barefooted.
bare|headed /beə r he d I d/ ADJ [usu v-link ADJ , ADJ after v] Someone who is bareheaded is not wearing a hat or any other covering on their head. □ He was bareheaded in the rain. □ I rode bareheaded.