Razor wire is strong wire with sharp blades sticking out of it. In wars or civil conflict it is sometimes used to prevent people from entering or leaving buildings or areas of land.
...plans to use razor wire to seal off hostels for migrant workers.
razor wire in British English
noun
strong wire with pieces of sharp metal set across it at close intervals, used to make fences or barriers
razor wire in American English
wire with sharp cutting edges, typically stretched in coils as a barricade or atop fences
Examples of 'razor wire' in a sentence
razor wire
The more important buildings are protected by concrete blast barriers and coiled razor wire.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Most of the rich here live behind razor wire and high walls.
The Sun (2009)
It got stuck on razor wire.
The Sun (2015)
In many villages, government troops are dug in behind sandbags and razor wire.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Corruption is rife at the jail, which sits behind lines of razor wire and armed guards.
The Sun (2013)
A guard escorted the prisoner from behind a fence topped with razor wire.
Christianity Today (2000)
We speed into the city along a highway lined with blast walls, coiled razor wire and land stripped of vegetation.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
On the farm, instead of us putting money into razor wire we should be putting money into planting more fruit trees and crops.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The final sections were completed with razor wire on Sunday, but it is not impenetrable.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Or rather, these days, the container or tanker terminal behind its razor wire.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
They live in a compound protected by fences and razor wire, and the vibe is distinctly post-apocalyptic.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
They seem a world away from the razor wire and sniffer dogs of the French port more than 50 miles to the west.