barley
noun
bar·ley ˈbär-lē 
: a cereal grass (genus Hordeum and especially H. vulgare) having the flowers in dense spikes with long awns and three spikelets at each joint of the rachis
also : its seed used especially in malt beverages, breakfast foods, and stock feeds
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The red rice is said to have been created when Penda Mbaye, a Senegalese cook who worked in the home of a French colonial governor, ran out of barley. 
Jonmaesha Beltran, The Arizona Republic, 11 Aug. 2022 Around 4 million metric tons of barley and 9 million metric tons of wheat have been harvested so far this summer, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food. Jared Malsin, WSJ, 2 Aug. 2022 Pot still whiskey uses a mash bill of malted and unmalted barley. Joseph V Micallef, Forbes, 19 May 2022 Crops of cold-hardy barley have thrived on the Tibetan Plateau for thousands of years, and the grain has long been a staple of high-altitude diets there. Jen Rose Smith, CNN, 4 May 2022 Farmers in central Arizona, among the state’s largest producers of livestock, dairy, alfalfa, wheat and barley, lost most of their Colorado River allocation last year when the government announced its first shortage. Suman Naishadham, ajc, 17 Aug. 2022 Some farmers like Button continue to grow traditional foods, while other Indigenous farmers nurture fields of potatoes, wheat and barley. AZCentral.com, 8 Aug. 2022 Much of Ukraine’s grain crop is winter wheat and barley, sown in early fall and harvested the following summer. New York Times, 4 Aug. 2022 While the start of shipments is promising for Ukrainian farmers and the country’s mainly developing-world buyers, the flow of corn, wheat and barley will still be lower than before the war. Matthew Luxmoore, WSJ, 4 Aug. 2022 See More
Jonmaesha Beltran, The Arizona Republic, 11 Aug. 2022 Around 4 million metric tons of barley and 9 million metric tons of wheat have been harvested so far this summer, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food. Jared Malsin, WSJ, 2 Aug. 2022 Pot still whiskey uses a mash bill of malted and unmalted barley. Joseph V Micallef, Forbes, 19 May 2022 Crops of cold-hardy barley have thrived on the Tibetan Plateau for thousands of years, and the grain has long been a staple of high-altitude diets there. Jen Rose Smith, CNN, 4 May 2022 Farmers in central Arizona, among the state’s largest producers of livestock, dairy, alfalfa, wheat and barley, lost most of their Colorado River allocation last year when the government announced its first shortage. Suman Naishadham, ajc, 17 Aug. 2022 Some farmers like Button continue to grow traditional foods, while other Indigenous farmers nurture fields of potatoes, wheat and barley. AZCentral.com, 8 Aug. 2022 Much of Ukraine’s grain crop is winter wheat and barley, sown in early fall and harvested the following summer. New York Times, 4 Aug. 2022 While the start of shipments is promising for Ukrainian farmers and the country’s mainly developing-world buyers, the flow of corn, wheat and barley will still be lower than before the war. Matthew Luxmoore, WSJ, 4 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English barly, from Old English bærlic of barley; akin to Old English bere barley, Latin far spelt
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing barley
Kids Definition
barley
noun
bar·ley ˈbär-lē
: a cereal grass grown for its grain which is used mostly to feed farm animals or make malt
Medical Definition
barley
noun
bar·ley ˈbär-lē
: a cereal grass (genus Hordeum, especially H. vulgare) having the flowers in dense spikes with long awns
also : its seed used in malt beverages and in breakfast foods and stock feeds