Definitions for barb
bɑrbbarb

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. shot, shaft, slam, dig, barb, jibe, gibenoun

   an aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect

   "his parting shot was `drop dead'"; "she threw shafts of sarcasm"; "she takes a dig at me every chance she gets"

2. barbnoun

   the pointed part of barbed wire

3. barbnoun

   a subsidiary point facing opposite from the main point that makes an arrowhead or spear hard to remove

4. barbverb

   one of the parallel filaments projecting from the main shaft of a feather

5. barbverb

   provide with barbs

   "barbed wire"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Barbnoun

   A diminutive of the female given name Barbara.

2. Etymology: From barbe

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. BARBnoun

   Etymology: barba, a beard, Lat.

   1. Any thing that grows in the place of the beard.

   The barbel, so called by reason of his barb or wattels at his mouth, under his chaps. Izaak Walton, Angler.

   2. The points that stand backward in an arrow, or fishing-hook, to hinder them from being extracted.

   Nor less the Spartan fear’d, before he found
   The shining barb appear above the wound. Alexander Pope, Iliad.

   3. The armour for horses.

   Their horses were naked, without any barbs; for albeit many brought barbs, few regarded to put them on. John Hayward.

2. Barbnoun

   A Barbary horse.

   Etymology: contracted from Barbary

   These horses are brought from Barbary; they are commonly of a slender light size, and very lean and thin, usually chosen for stallions. Barbs, as it is said, may die, but never grow old; the vigour and mettle of barbs never cease, but with their life. Farrier’s Dict.

3. To Barbverb

   Etymology: from the noun.

   1. To shave; to dress out the beard.

   Shave the head, and tie the beard, and say it was the desire of the penitent to be so barbed before his death. William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure.

   2. To furnish horses with armour.

   A warriour train
   That like a deluge pour’d upon the plain;
   On barbed steeds they rode in proud array,
   Thick as the college of the bees in May. John Dryden, Fables.

   3. To jag arrows with hooks.

   The twanging bows
   Send showers of shafts, that on their barbed points
   Alternate ruin bear. Philips.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. BARB

   The Broadcasters Audience Research Board (BARB) is a British organisation that compiles audience measurement and television ratings in the United Kingdom. It was created in 1981 to replace two previous systems whereby ITV ratings were compiled by JICTAR (Joint Industry Committee for Television Audience Research), whilst the BBC did their own audience research. BARB is jointly owned by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky and the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising. Participating viewers have a box on top of their TV sets which tracks the programmes they watch.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. barb

   A barb is a sharp projection extending backward or outward from a point, often designed to make removal difficult, as in a fishhook or an arrow. It can also refer to a cutting or caustic remark.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Barbnoun

   beard, or that which resembles it, or grows in the place of it

2. Barbnoun

   a muffler, worn by nuns and mourners

3. Barbnoun

   paps, or little projections, of the mucous membrane, which mark the opening of the submaxillary glands under the tongue in horses and cattle. The name is mostly applied when the barbs are inflamed and swollen

4. Barbnoun

   the point that stands backward in an arrow, fishhook, etc., to prevent it from being easily extracted. Hence: Anything which stands out with a sharp point obliquely or crosswise to something else

5. Barbnoun

   a bit for a horse

6. Barbnoun

   one of the side branches of a feather, which collectively constitute the vane. See Feather

7. Barbnoun

   a southern name for the kingfishes of the eastern and southeastern coasts of the United States; -- also improperly called whiting

8. Barbnoun

   a hair or bristle ending in a double hook

9. Barbverb

   to shave or dress the beard of

10. Barbverb

    to clip; to mow

11. Barbverb

    to furnish with barbs, or with that which will hold or hurt like barbs, as an arrow, fishhook, spear, etc

12. Barbnoun

    the Barbary horse, a superior breed introduced from Barbary into Spain by the Moors

13. Barbnoun

    a blackish or dun variety of the pigeon, originally brought from Barbary

14. Barbnoun

    armor for a horse. Same as 2d Bard, n., 1

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Barb

   bärb, n. the beard-like jag near the point of an arrow, fish-hook, &c.—v.t. to arm with barbs, as an arrow, &c.: to shave, trim, mow, to pierce, as with a barb.—adjs. Barb′ate (bot.), bearing a hairy tuft; Barb′ated, barbed, bearded.—n. Barbe, a term applied by the Waldenses to their teachers.—adjs. Barbed, furnished with a barb: of a horse, armed or caparisoned with a barb or bard; Barb′ellate (bot.), having barbed or bearded bristles. [Fr.—L. barba, a beard.]

2. Barb

   bärb, n. a swift kind of horse, the breed of which came from Barbary in North Africa.

Military Dictionary and GazetteerRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. barb

   The reflected points of the head of an arrow. The armor for horses was so called.

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. BARB

   What does BARB stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the BARB acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

EntomologyRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Barb

   a spine armed with teeth pointing backward.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. BARB

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Barb is ranked #15827 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Barb surname appeared 1,839 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Barb.
   
   89.2% or 1,641 total occurrences were White.
   5.3% or 99 total occurrences were Black.
   2.4% or 45 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   1.5% or 28 total occurrences were of two or more races.
   0.9% or 18 total occurrences were Asian.
   0.4% or 8 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

Matched Categories

1. • Change
   • Point
   • Remark

Anagrams for barb »

1. abbr

2. abbr.

3. Rabb

4. brab

How to pronounce barb?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say barb in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of barb in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of barb in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of barb in a Sentence

1. Richard Brinsley Sheridan:

   There's no possibility of being witty without a little ill-nature -- the malice of a good thing is the barb that makes it stick.

2. Akhenaton:

   The barb in the arrow of childhood suffering is this its intense loneliness, its intense ignorance.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=barb
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Barb
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=barb
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barb
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barb
7. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=barb
8. ^ Military Dictionary and Gazetteer
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/59563/pg59563-images.html
9. ^ Entomology
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/22748/22748-h/22748-h.htm#:~:text=barb
10. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
    https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html