a cylindrical wooden container with slightly bulging sides made of staves hooped together, and with flat, parallel ends.
the quantity that such a vessel of some standard size can hold: for most liquids, 31½ U.S. gallons (119 L); for petroleum, 42 U.S. gallons (159 L); for dry materials, 105 U.S. dry quarts (115 L). Abbreviation: bbl
any large quantity: a barrel of fun.
any container, case, or part similar to a wooden barrel in form.
Ordnance. the tube of a gun.
Machinery. the chamber of a pump in which the piston works.
a drum turning on a shaft, as in a weight-driven clock.
Horology. the cylindrical case in a watch or clock within which the mainspring is coiled.
OrnithologyObsolete. a calamus or quill.
the trunk of a quadruped, especially of a horse, cow, etc.
Nautical. the main portion of a capstan, about which the rope winds, between the drumhead at the top and the pawl rim at the bottom.
a rotating horizontal cylinder in which manufactured objects are coated or polished by tumbling in a suitable substance.
any structure having the form of a barrel vault.
Also called throat. Automotive. a passageway in a carburetor that has the shape of a Venturi tube.
verb (used with object),bar·reled,bar·rel·ing or (especially British) bar·relled,bar·rel·ling.
to put or pack in a barrel or barrels.
to finish (metal parts) by tumbling in a barrel.
Informal. to force to go or proceed at high speed: He barreled his car through the dense traffic.
verb (used without object),bar·reled,bar·rel·ing or (especially British) bar·relled,bar·rel·ling.
Informal. to travel or drive very fast: to barrel along the highway.
Idioms for barrel
over a barrel, Informal. in a helpless, weak, or awkward position; unable to act: They really had us over a barrel when they foreclosed the mortgage.
Origin of barrel
1250–1300; Middle English barell<Anglo-French baril,Old French barril<Vulgar Latin *barrīculum, equivalent to *barrīc(a), perhaps derivative of Late Latin barrabar1 + Latin -ulum-ule; compare Medieval Latin (circa 800) barriclus small cask
Upon harvest, the bags of mycelium were extracted in large barrels full of alcohol to produce the cure for the bees.
The Fungal Evangelist Who Would Save the Bees - Issue 90: Something Green|Merlin Sheldrake|September 23, 2020|Nautilus
Both Rystad Energy and Wood Mackenzie, the Edinburgh-based energy consultancy, put the break-even price for existing oil-sands production at around $45 per barrel, with some projects able to keep the lights on in the $20 to $30 range.
After the boom: Canada’s oil capital faces an uncertain future|kdunn6|September 21, 2020|Fortune
Since those averages are currently only recorded through June 2020, revenue calculations for 2020 averaged oil barrel prices for the first six months of the year.
Oil Companies Are Profiting From Illegal Spills. And California Lets Them.|by Janet Wilson, The Desert Sun, and Lylla Younes, ProPublica|September 18, 2020|ProPublica
The tubs are made of a strong, lightweight plastic, much like the standard food barrels you get from outfitters, only smaller.
How (and Why) to Execute the Perfect Canoe Portage|Alex Hutchinson|September 9, 2020|Outside Online
Typewriter factories were converted to produce rifle barrels, while those that couldn’t went on making typewriters exclusively for the government.
Unmade in America|Tate Ryan-Mosley|August 14, 2020|MIT Technology Review
That clear spirit is what goes into every barrel of The Macallan.
How Much Do Whisky Casks Really Affect Taste?||December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And for Scotch in particular—which can spend decades in the barrel—wood is critical to the finished spirit.
How Much Do Whisky Casks Really Affect Taste?||December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Gelhaus proceeded to fire eight shots at Gonzalez, striking him seven times, when he said Gonzalez raised the barrel.
Worse Than Eric Garner: Cops Who Got Away With Killing Autistic Men and Little Girls|Emily Shire|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On his knees, he pulls out a gun and places the barrel inside his mouth.
The Walking Dead’s ‘Self Help’: A Grim Show Displays Its Comedy Streak, and A Major Reveal|Melissa Leon|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There were a lot of folks begging us to confront the Assad regime or at least create a no fly zone and stop the barrel bombs.
Exclusive: America’s Allies Almost Bombed in Syrian Airstrikes|Josh Rogin|September 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One barrel of cement would joint about 300 sections of pipe.
Concrete Construction|Halbert P. Gillette
Bore small holes in the bottom of a barrel, place four bricks around, and fill the barrel with ashes.
The American Frugal Housewife|Lydia M. Child
Pack the roasting pieces, which you do not want soon, in a barrel of snow, and set it where it will not melt.
The Young Housekeeper's Friend|Mrs. (Mary Hooker) Cornelius
They were short of provisions, and we gave them a barrel of ship-bread, and seventy pounds of beef.
Audubon and his Journals, Volume I (of 2)|Maria R. Audubon
After a brief pause it was rapidly wound in on the barrel of the windlass.
Bloom of Cactus|Robert Ames Bennet
British Dictionary definitions for barrel
barrel
/ (ˈbærəl) /
noun
a cylindrical container usually bulging outwards in the middle and held together by metal hoops; cask
Also called: barrelfulthe amount that a barrel can hold
a unit of capacity used in brewing, equal to 36 Imperial gallons
a unit of capacity used in the oil and other industries, normally equal to 42 US gallons or 35 Imperial gallons
a thing or part shaped like a barrel, esp a tubular part of a machine
the tube through which the projectile of a firearm is discharged
horologythe cylindrical drum in a watch or clock that is rotated by the mainspring
the trunk of a four-legged animalthe barrel of a horse
the quill of a feather
informala large measure; a great deal (esp in the phrases barrel of fun, barrel of laughs)
Australianinformalthe hollow inner side of a wave
over a barrelinformalpowerless
scrape the barrelinformalto be forced to use one's last and weakest resource
see both barrels; bottom of the barrel; cash on the barrelhead; like shooting fish in a barrel; lock, stock, and barrel; more fun than a barrel of monkeys; over a barrel; pork barrel; rotten apple (spoils the barrel).