barrier
//ˈbæɹi.ə//
Forms
- Plural
- barriers
- present (v1)
- barrier
- past (v2)
- barriered
- past participle (v3)
- barriered
- present participle
- barriering
- 3rd person singular
- barriers
Definitions
1.A structure that bars passage.
- The bus went through a railway barrier and was hit by a train.
- The bomber had passed through one checkpoint before blowing himself up at a second barrier.
2.An obstacle or impediment.
- Even a small fee can be a barrier for some students.
3.A boundary or limit.
- Few marathon runners break the three-hour time barrier.
- The downside of normalization is that it erects a defensive barrier between the real world and the perceived i.e. normalized world.
4.A node (in government and binding theory) said to intervene between other nodes A and B if it is a potential governor for B, c-commands B, and does not c-command A.
1.To block or obstruct with a barrier.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #2872
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Word family
Etymology
From Middle English barrer, barrere, barryȝer
From Anglo-Norman barrere (compare French barrière)
From barre (“bar”).