bars 1 of 2

plural of bar
1
as in beams
a straight piece (as of wood or metal) that is longer than it is wide all of the prison's windows are partially covered with steel bars

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2
as in streaks
a line or long narrow section differing in color from the background the cat had a bar of white down her throat

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3
as in mounds
a pile or ridge of granular matter (as sand or snow) more than one boater has run aground on that treacherous bar of sand in the river

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4
5
as in tribunals
an assembly of persons for the administration of justice rather than try and convict the alleged murderer in the mass media, let justice be done at the bar

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6
7
as in standards
something set up as an example against which others of the same type are compared we need to raise the bar for what is acceptable behavior in this situation

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bars

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of bar
1
as in stripes
to make stripes on barred the fence with white strips

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2
3
4
as in guards
to disallow entry into (a place) by means of a physical barrier at the entry point the bikeway was barred by a huge fallen tree

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bars
Noun
Revised front and rear anti-roll bars are also on board to enhance agility. — Bradley Iger, Robb Report, 16 Oct. 2026 Michelob Ultra transformed pieces of the official NBA Finals court into custom bottle openers and gave New York City bars and their bartenders the one-of-a-kind collectibles. — Sportico Staff, Sportico.com, 16 Oct. 2026 In the surrounding neighborhood, lots of charming bars, shops, and restaurants sit within walking distance and public ferry service is available. — Madeline Weinfield, Architectural Digest, 16 Oct. 2026 Unreal’s dark chocolate coconut bars got my family through living together during COVID. — Kate Kassin, Bon Appetit Magazine, 16 Oct. 2026 Steps away, Rainey Street is a compact strip freshly reimagined with towering residential high-rises, plus bars, music, and bites. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Oct. 2026 Regiment One55 Bar & Lounge will open inside the restaurant as a space that draws inspiration from British cocktail bars, reimagined through an Indian lens. — Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2026 The film is rife with theories as to why, in a city where bars have names like Ho Bots, people want artificial companions, and Klara’s immediate circle of friends are open to all options. — Damon Wise, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026 A little under $700,000 was improperly reimbursed because those dollars went towards visits to an escape room, restaurants, bars, a strip club and a gym, according to investigators. — Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 10 Oct. 2026
Verb
The draft also bars other federal departments, agencies, and officials from suspending a model’s development, deployment, or internal use. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026 The National Flood Insurance Program, which covers the vast majority of flood insurance policies in the country, bars communities from allowing dry floodproofing of homes in flood zones. — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026 Its central argument is that nothing in Indian law or the OCI regulations bars a cardholder from attending a protest. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026 The directive bars brands from turning a benefit tied to one feature into an environmental claim about the whole product. — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026 The temporary restraining order by Judge Jennifer Rochon in Manhattan federal court also bars the Department of Homeland Security from spending any more of the $20 million allocated for the ad campaign. — Dan Mangan, CNBC, 12 Oct. 2026 Specifically, the law prohibits municipal governments from requiring businesses to set specific wages, benefits or working conditions under contract, and bars them from forcing businesses to join task forces formed to address those issues. — Nick Sullivan, Charlotte Observer, 10 Oct. 2026 One of Broward’s rare breakout pop acts, Black Violin’s Wil B and Kev Marcus are Dillard High grads who began turning heads playing hip-hop on viola and violin at Fort Lauderdale bars about 20 years ago. — Greg Carannante, Sun Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2026 State law bars state resources, including staff time, from being used for political campaigns. — Robert Tann, Denver Post, 6 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bars
Noun
  • Meanwhile, Mickelson noted that every ceiling in the theater is different — a coffered ceiling with hexagonal panels gives way to plaster beams designed and painted to look like wood.
    — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Flexible beams and shells that snap between shapes have also been used to produce movement.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 16 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • The Zapata brothers, jovial and welcoming, both had thick, curly black hair with streaks of gray.
    — Jordan Salama, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Those streaks — winning the West and owning a winning division record — ended last year.
    — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 12 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Bogs tend to keep their secrets low to the ground, where colors shift by inches and boundaries blur in gradients of tiny mounds of moss and sedges emerging from pools.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
  • In 1900, an archaeologist documented 51 Native American mounds at what’s now Casper Bluff Land and Water Reserve, 5 miles outside Galena.
    — Julia Sayers Gokhale, Midwest Living, 14 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • After spending much of his late 20s and early 30s in traditional English pubs, Teti also noticed the lack of a real dive bar in the city – a staple in the US.
    — Thomas Schlachter, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026
  • British pubs are struggling, with 161 shutting in the first quarter of 2026, up 26% from a year earlier.
    — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, while posturing as the guardian of a democratic transition, governed through massacres and military tribunals.
    — Abdelrahman ElGendy, Time, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Any matters requiring legal enforcement are referred directly to the Texas judicial system, said the tribunal, which likened its work to the services provided by Jewish Beth Din courts and Catholic ecclesiastical tribunals.
    — David Crary, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Furthermore, the whiskers are in front, preventing the drone from detecting sideways obstacles like random jagged branches in a forest.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The legal and political obstacles to taking custody of those assets for onward transfer to Ukraine may be too formidable to resolve in time to help Kyiv in the coming year.
    — Eric Ciaramella, Foreign Affairs, 14 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Fire Chief Darin Snedeker said a third station is operating below national staffing standards, affecting the district's ability to respond quickly to emergencies.
    — Darrielle Fair, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • From men wearing pink to push back against the pressures of toxic masculinity to women pushing back against unrealistic body standards, pink has become a color of defiant empathy.
    — Roy Stephen Canivel, Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Opt for scalloped French tips with blue fresco detailing, or stripes the color of the Tuscan sun.
    — Daisy Maldonado, InStyle, 26 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Bars.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bars. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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