Word forms: plural barrels, present participle barrelling, past tense, past participle barrelledregional note: in AM, use barreling, barreled
1. countable noun
A barrel is a large, round container for liquids or food.
The wine is aged for almost a year in oak barrels.
...barrels of pickled fish.
Synonyms: cask, drum, butt, vat More Synonyms of barrel
2. countable noun
In the oil industry, a barrel is a unit of measurement equal to 159 litres.
Fully operational, the pipe can pump one million barrels of oil a day. [+ of]
Oil prices were closing at $19.76 a barrel.
3. countable noun [noun NOUN]
The barrel of a gun is the tube through which the bullet moves when the gun is fired.
He pushed the barrel of the gun into the other man's open mouth. [+ of]
4. verb
If a vehicle or person is barrelling in a particular direction, they are moving very quickly in that direction.
[mainly US]
The car was barreling down the street at a crazy speed. [VERB preposition/adverb]
Synonyms: cannon More Synonyms of barrel
5. See also pork barrel
6.
See lock, stock, and barrel
7.
See have someone over a barrel
8.
See to scrape the barrel
9.
See a barrel of laughs
barrel in British English
(ˈbærəl)
noun
1.
a cylindrical container usually bulging outwards in the middle and held together by metal hoops; cask
2. Also called: barrelful
the amount that a barrel can hold
3.
a unit of capacity used in brewing, equal to 36 Imperial gallons
4.
a unit of capacity used in the oil and other industries, normally equal to 42 US gallons or 35 Imperial gallons
5.
a thing or part shaped like a barrel, esp a tubular part of a machine
6.
the tube through which the projectile of a firearm is discharged
7. horology
the cylindrical drum in a watch or clock that is rotated by the mainspring
8.
the trunk of a four-legged animal
the barrel of a horse
9.
the quill of a feather
10. informal
a large measure; a great deal (esp in the phrases barrel of fun, barrel of laughs)
11. Australian informal
the hollow inner side of a wave
12. over a barrel
13. scrape the barrel
verbWord forms: -rels, -relling, -relledWord forms: US-rels, -reling or -reled
14. (transitive)
to put into a barrel or barrels
15. (intr; foll by along, in, etc) informal(intransitive)
to travel or move very fast
16. Australian informal
to ride on the inside of a wave
Word origin
C14: from Old French baril perhaps from barrebar1
barrel in American English
(ˈbærəl; ˈbɛrəl)
noun
1.
a large, wooden, cylindrical container with flat, circular ends and sides that bulge outward, made usually of staves bound together with hoops
2.
the capacity or contents of a standard barrel, esp. as a unit of measure (in the U.S., 311⁄2 gal, but for petroleum, 42 gal and for fermented beverages, 31 gal; in Gr. Brit., 36 imperial gal; in dry measure, various amounts, as 196 lb of flour, 200 lb of pork or fish, etc.)
3.
a revolving cylinder, wound with a chain or rope
the barrel of a windlass
4.
any hollow or solid cylinder
the barrel of a fountain pen
5.
the tube of a gun, through which the projectile is fired
6.
the cylindrical case containing the mainspring of a clock or watch
7.
the piston chamber of a pump
8.
the quill of a feather
9. Informal
a great amount
a barrel of fun
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈbarreled or ˈbarrelled, ˈbarreling or ˈbarrelling
10.
to put or pack in a barrel or barrels
verb intransitive US
11. Slang
to go at high speed
Idioms:
have someone over a barrel
Word origin
ME barel < OFr baril < ML barillus < ?
barrel in the Oil and Gas Industry
(bærəl)
Word forms: (regular plural) barrels
noun
(Extractive engineering: General, Operations)
A barrel is the unit of volume measurement used for oil, 1 barrel being equal to 42 US gallons.
The offshore platform pumps oil at the rate of one barrel per minute.
A petroleum barrel contains 42 US gallons.
A barrel is the unit of volume measurement used for oil, 1 barrel being equal to 42 US gallons.
More idioms containing
barrel
something is like shooting fish in a barrel
scrape the bottom of the barrel
have someone over a barrel
lock, stock, and barrel
Examples of 'barrel' in a sentence
barrel
This time he had a modified gun with two barrels and was so nervous that he used both.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Would he let me run the club lock, stock and barrel?
The Sun (2017)
It will trim its output from 10.5 million barrels per day to a shade over ten million.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
In return, it will receive 220,000 barrels of oil a day.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
In sterling terms, the cost of a barrel of crude oil has more than doubled since January.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The sustained rise in energy prices has led some to forecast that a barrel of oil could be trading for more than $70 within the next year.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
It takes guts to stare down the barrel of a gun and lurch forward.
The Sun (2016)
He had lost another son to a barrel bomb the previous day.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The cider is stored in old oak rum barrels to impart a mellow background flavour.
Lockspeiser, Jerry & Gear, Jackie Thorsons Organic Wine Guide (1991)
We are staring down the barrel of a gun.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Yet the memory of lugging beer barrels around a cellar endures.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The cost of a barrel of oil depends on how and where it is produced.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
That produced half a million barrels a day in its glory years.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Ditto those aged in new oak barrels.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Aged in oak barrels for three years.
Lockspeiser, Jerry & Gear, Jackie Thorsons Organic Wine Guide (1991)
The frowning barrel of his gun overshadowing.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It was built as a gimmick restaurant for people who consider it tasteful to eat in large barrels.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
They sit in front of computer screens pushing buttons and buying and selling billions of barrels of oil.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Players really appear to be owned lock, stock and barrel.
The Sun (2015)
His last sermon took place in the fields, atop a large barrel.
Christianity Today (2000)
China produces about 3.6 million barrels per day of crude and consumes almost all of that domestically.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
She must have thought,'What a barrel of fun he is!
The Sun (2013)
Roll out the barrel: we'll have a barrel of fun.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
They either moved lock, stock and barrel, or expanded their operations eastwards.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Energy stocks were some of the biggest climbers, as oil prices rose to around $110 a barrel.
The Sun (2012)
He pushed it in front of him with his paws, like a brewer's man trundling a barrel.
Beatrix Potter The Tales of Beatrix Potter (1930)
Word lists with
barrel
container
In other languages
barrel
British English: barrel /ˈbærəl/ NOUN
A barrel is a large round container for liquids or food. Barrels are usually wider in the middle than at the top or bottom.
...12 million barrels of oil.
American English: barrel
Arabic: بِرْميل
Brazilian Portuguese: barril
Chinese: 桶
Croatian: bačva
Czech: sud
Danish: tønde
Dutch: ton vat
European Spanish: barril
Finnish: tynnyri
French: tonneau
German: Fass
Greek: βαρέλι
Italian: barile
Japanese: 樽
Korean: 통
Norwegian: tønne
Polish: beczka
European Portuguese: barril
Romanian: butoi
Russian: бочка
Latin American Spanish: barril
Swedish: fat tunna
Thai: ถังใส่ของเหลว
Turkish: fıçı
Ukrainian: барель
Vietnamese: thùng tròn
All related terms of 'barrel'
barrel bomb
an improvised explosive device consisting of a barrel filled with explosives or chemicals that is dropped onto its target from an aircraft
barrel roll
a flight manoeuvre in which an aircraft rolls about its longitudinal axis while following a spiral course in line with the direction of flight
barrel roof
a roof or ceiling having a semicylindrical form
beer barrel
a barrel for, or containing beer
gun barrel
the tube through which the bullet moves when the gun is fired
pork barrel
If you say that someone is using pork barrel politics , you mean that they are spending a lot of government money on a local project in order to win the votes of the people who live in that area.
barrel cactus
any of several large, cylindrical, ribbed, spiny cacti of the genera Echinocactus and Ferocactus
barrel chair
a kind of upholstered chair with an upright , rounded back
barrel organ
A barrel organ is a large machine that plays music when you turn the handle on the side . Barrel organs used to be played in the street to entertain people.
barrel-shaped
having the shape of a barrel
barrel vault
a vault in the form of a half cylinder
barrel-chested
having a large rounded chest
biscuit barrel
an airtight container of circular section equipped with a lid and used for storing biscuits
cracker-barrel
rural ; rustic ; homespun
cylinder barrel
the metal casting containing a cylinder of a reciprocating internal-combustion engine
barrel distortion
distortion of an image produced by an optical system that causes straight lines at image margins to bulge outwards
over a barrel
powerless
barrel-house jazz
a cheap and disreputable drinking establishment
scrape the barrel
to be forced to use one's last and weakest resource
a barrel of laughs
If an experience is a barrel of laughs , it is very enjoyable. If someone is a barrel of laughs , they are fun to be with.
street piano
an instrument consisting of a cylinder turned by a handle and having pins on it that interrupt the air flow to certain pipes , thereby playing any of a number of tunes
tunnel vault
a vault in the form of a half cylinder
wagon vault
a vault in the form of a half cylinder
lock, stock, and barrel
If you say , for example , that someone moves or buys something lock , stock , and barrel , you are emphasizing that they move or buy every part or item of it.
on the barrelhead
if you pay cash on the barrelhead or on the barrel for something, you pay for it immediately and in cash. The British expression is on the nail .
tumbling box
a revolving box or drum into which loose materials are loaded and tumbled about, as for mixing , polishing, etc.
have someone over a barrel
If someone has you over a barrel , they have put you in a difficult situation where you have little choice but to do what they want you to do.
scrape the bottom of the barrel
to use something or do something that is not very good , because you cannot think of anything better to use or do
something is like shooting fish in a barrel
said to mean that one side in a battle or contest is so much stronger than the other that the weaker side has no chance at all of winning
to scrape the barrel to scrape the bottom of the barrel
If you say that someone is scraping the barrel , or scraping the bottom of the barrel , you disapprove of the fact that they are using or doing something of extremely poor quality.
Chinese translation of 'barrel'
barrel
(ˈbærəl)
n(c)
(= cask)
[of wine, beer]桶 (tǒng) (个(個), gè)
[of oil]琵琶桶 (pípátǒng) (个(個), gè)
[of gun]枪(槍)管 (qiāngguǎn) (支, zhī)
(noun)
Definition
a cylindrical container, usually with rounded sides and flat ends, and held together by metal hoops
barrels of pickled fish
Synonyms
cask
The casks of sherry are stored one on top of the other.
drum
a drum of chemical waste
butt
The hose is great for watering your garden from your water butt.
vat
food cooked in huge vats of boiling fat
cylinder
tub
keg
a full keg of beer
firkin
(verb)
The car was barrelling down the street at a crazy speed.
Synonyms
cannon
Additional synonyms
in the sense of butt
Definition
a large cask for collecting or storing liquids
The hose is great for watering your garden from your water butt.
Synonyms
cask,
drum,
barrel,
cylinder
in the sense of drum
Definition
an object shaped like a drum
a drum of chemical waste
Synonyms
barrel,
tank,
container,
cylinder,
canister,
cask
in the sense of keg
Definition
a small barrel in which beer is transported and stored