1
: a round bulging vessel of greater length than breadth that is usually made of staves bound with hoops and has flat ends of equal diameter
2
a
: the amount contained in a barrel
especially
: the amount (such as 31 gallons of fermented beverage or 42 gallons of petroleum) fixed for a certain commodity used as a unit of measure
b
: a great quantity
3
: a drum or cylindrical part: such as
a
: the discharging tube of a gun
b
: the part of a fountain pen or of a pencil containing the ink or lead
c
: a cylindrical or tapering housing containing the optical components of a photographic-lens system and the iris diaphragm
d
: the fuel outlet from the carburetor on a gasoline engine
e
: the flat, cylindrical metal box that encloses the mainspring of a timepiece
4
: the trunk of a quadruped
barreled or barrelled; barreling or barrelling
: to put or pack in a barrel
: to move at a high speed or without hesitation
Synonyms
Noun
- abundance
- basketful
- boatload
- bucket
- bunch
- bundle
- bushel
- carload
- chunk
- deal
- dozen
- fistful
- gobs
- good deal
- heap
- hundred
- lashings [chiefly British]
- lashins
- loads
- lot
- mass
- mess
- mountain
- much
- multiplicity
- myriad
- oodles
- pack
- passel
- peck
- pile
- plateful
- plenitude
- plentitude
- plenty
- pot
- potful
- profusion
- quantity
- raft
- reams
- scads
- sheaf
- shipload
- sight
- slew
- spate
- stack
- store
- ton
- truckload
- volume
- wad
- wealth
- yard
Verb
- belt
- blast
- blaze
- blow
- bolt
- bomb [slang]
- bowl
- breeze
- bundle
- bustle
- buzz
- cannonball
- careen
- career
- chase
- course
- crack (on)
- dash
- drive
- fly
- hare
- hasten
- hie
- highball
- hotfoot (it)
- hump
- hurl
- hurry
- hurtle
- hustle
- jet
- jump
- motor
- nip
- pelt
- race
- ram
- rip
- rocket
- run
- rush
- rustle
- scoot
- scurry
- scuttle
- shoot
- speed
- step
- tear
- travel
- trot
- whirl
- whisk
- zip
- zoom
Examples of barrel in a Sentence
Noun
Oak barrels are used for aging the wine.
The price of oil is over 30 dollars a barrel.
They drank a whole barrel of beer.
the barrel of a gun
Verb
The truck went barreling down Main Street.
She came running out of her office and went barreling past us down the hall.
Recent Examples on the Web
Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 2 Nov. 2024
The device arrives in a set with seven attachments, though the long barrel wands are our favorite for curling, whereas the brushes make raking through full manes a quick process.
—Kiana Murden, Vogue, 1 Nov. 2024
Abigail Adams, People.com, 4 Nov. 2024
The 6-foot-5, 265-pound rookie from UCLA burst off the line of scrimmage and barreled around Bears tight end Cole Kmet.
—Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for barrel 
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Noun
The boar bristles add a beautiful shine, while the large ceramic barrel uses ionic technology to create swoon-worthy waves and volume while zapping frizz.
—Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 2 Nov. 2024
The device arrives in a set with seven attachments, though the long barrel wands are our favorite for curling, whereas the brushes make raking through full manes a quick process.
—Kiana Murden, Vogue, 1 Nov. 2024
Verb
Brad Neet, Bouvet's longtime friend, said the couple was walking down the street with Adam's two daughters and grandson when a car jumped a curb and barreled toward the family, according to CBS affiliate KCAL and ABC affiliate KABC.
—Abigail Adams, People.com, 4 Nov. 2024
The 6-foot-5, 265-pound rookie from UCLA burst off the line of scrimmage and barreled around Bears tight end Cole Kmet.
—Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for barrel
Dictionary Entries Near barrel
Cite this Entry
“Barrel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barrel. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
barrel
2 of 2 verb
barreled or barrelled; barreling or barrelling
: to travel at a high speed
barreling down the highway
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