barrel

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   A round (cylindrical) vessel, such as a cask, of greater length than breadth, and bulging…

   A round (cylindrical) vessel, such as a cask, of greater length than breadth, and bulging in the middle, made of staves bound with hoops, and having flat ends (heads). The word is sometimes applied to a similar cylindrical container made of metal, usually called a drum.

   • Near-synonym: cask
   • a cracker barrel
2. 2

   The quantity which constitutes a full barrel

   The quantity which constitutes a full barrel: the volume or weight this represents varies by local law and custom.

   • 23 Hen. VIII, cap. 4... The barrel of beer is to hold 36 gallons, the kilderkin 18 gallons the firkin 9. But the barrel, kilderkin, and firkin of ale are to contain 32, 16, and 8 gallons.
3. 3

   A solid drum, or a hollow cylinder or case

   • the barrel of a windlass; the barrel of a watch, within which the spring is coiled.
4. ›+ 16 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      A metallic tube, as of a gun, from which a projectile is discharged.

      • You're shooting stars from the barrel of your eyes
   2. 5

      A venturi (in carburetion).

   3. 6

      A ceiling-mounted tube from which lights are suspended.

      • Moreover, it adds to difficulties in adjusting/servicing lamps located over high scenery, ceilings etc., where the barrel networks cannot be lowered or reached.
      • The barrel, which is usually from 2.0 m to 2.5 m long, and capable of lifting loads up to 120 kg, is suspended from the main housing which contains the motor gearbox unit, etc.
   4. 7

      Any tube.

   5. 8

      The hollow basal part of a feather.

   6. 9

      The part of a clarinet which connects the mouthpiece and upper joint, and resembles a…

      The part of a clarinet which connects the mouthpiece and upper joint, and resembles a barrel.

   7. 10

      A wave that breaks with a hollow compartment.

   8. 11

      A waste receptacle.

      • Throw it into the trash barrel.
   9. 12

      The ribs and belly of a horse or pony.

   10. 13

       A jar.

       • And ſhe ſaid, As the Lord thy God liueth, I haue not a cake, but an handfull of meale in a barrell, and a little oyle in a cruſe: [...]
   11. 14

       Any of the dark-staining regions in the somatosensory cortex of rodents, etc., where…

       Any of the dark-staining regions in the somatosensory cortex of rodents, etc., where somatosensory inputs from the contralateral side of the body come in from the thalamus.

   12. 15

       A statistic derived from launch angle and exit velocity of a ball hit in play.

       • For quotations using this term, see Citations:barrel.
   13. 16

       To put or to pack in a barrel or barrels.

   14. 17

       To move quickly or in an uncontrolled manner.

       • He came barrelling around the corner and I almost hit him.
       • Snow shattered and spilled down the slope. Within seconds, the avalanche was the size of more than a thousand cars barreling down the mountain and weighed millions of pounds.
       • Days before Trump’s inauguration, his envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, barrelled into Israel with a demand to meet Netanyahu on Shabbat in order to strongarm him into negotiating a ceasefire deal with Hamas in Gaza.
   15. 18

       To assume the shape of a barrel

       To assume the shape of a barrel; specifically, of the image on a computer display, television, etc., to exhibit barrel distortion, where the sides bulge outwards.

   16. 19

       To bet consecutively on multiple streets.

The neighborhood

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