barrack

1 of 3

noun

bar·​rack ˈber-ək 

-ik;

ˈba-rək,

-rik

1

: a building or set of buildings used especially for lodging soldiers in garrison

—usually used in plural

2

a

: a structure resembling a shed or barn that provides temporary housing

—usually used in plural

b

: housing characterized by extreme plainness or dreary uniformity

—usually used in plural

barrack

2 of 3

verb (1)

barracked; barracking; barracks

transitive verb

: to lodge in barracks

barrack

3 of 3

verb (2)

barracked; barracking; barracks

transitive verb

chiefly British

: to shout at derisively or sarcastically

intransitive verb

1

chiefly Australia : root, cheer

—usually used with for

2

chiefly British : jeer, scoff

barracker noun

Examples of barrack in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The survivors told us about their parents and grandparents, their spouses, their siblings, their children, their friends, their neighbors who died of starvation in ghetto streets or of typhus in a concentration camp barrack, or whose corpses rose toward heaven from a crematorium. —Menachem Z. Rosensaft, TIME, 27 Jan. 2025

When the Army announced plans to add another barbed wire fence tightly encircling the residential barracks, responses varied dramatically. —Eric Muller, The Mercury News, 26 Jan. 2025

Verb

Villa’s supporters revelled in his struggles as the game went on, booing and barracking. —Oliver Kay, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025

Simone studied Sanskrit, did social outreach with Indo-Chinese factory workers barracked in a prison, and joined a Resistance network. —Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

French baraque hut, from Catalan barraca

Verb (2)

perhaps from dialect (northern Ireland) barrack to brag

First Known Use

Noun

1686, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Verb (1)

1701, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1885, in the meaning defined at transitive sense