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bar

bar

335 6.1
An official rule that prevents someone from doing something
  • noun
  • /bɑr/
  • Formal
translation icon : impedimento
  • Some states set a bar to outsourcing at a certain level of cost savings.
  • jurisdictional bar
  • bar to suits
  • bar to citizen suits

Examples

  • The new regulations created a serious bar to any further developments in the project.

  • Policies dating back to the Roosevelt administration bar hiring bias in publicly funded programs.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Why is selling this much and reaching this bar important?

  • In principle, the bar is deeply committed to equal opportunity and social justice.

    Academic text (2017)
  • The door slammed, and they heard a heavy wooden bar fall across it from the outside.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Many state procurement systems are modeled after the American Bar Association Model Procurement Code.

    Academic text (2017)
  • The firm double-checks this with the New York Bar and then notifies the California State Bar.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Her refusal to comply with the rules was seen as a legal bar to the settlement.

  • The court stated that there was no bar to appealing the decision made by the lower court.

Synonyms

restriction
vsbar
340 3.0

A rule or action that limits what you can do

is an official legal block aimed at stopping that specific action
prohibition
vsbar
  • Formal
48 4.4

An official rule that stops people from doing something

is a general legal restriction that prevents a particular action
banning
vsbar
8 3.9

Making something not allowed by law or officials

is the broader label for any official or legal prevention
stricture
vsbar
8 7.7

A rule that limits what people can do

is an official prohibition often stated as a legal block
proscription
vsbar
  • Formal
3 8.8

An official rule that bans something or someone, usually by law

is a broader legal restriction rather than a specific formal order
debarment
vsbar
  • Formal
1 7.8

An official ban that stops someone from taking part as a punishment

is a general restriction that can apply to acts or people
banning-order
vsbar
  • UK
1 8.1

An official order that stops a person or group from doing certain things

is the general idea of an official restriction preventing acts
disallowance
vsbar
  • Formal
1 7.2

An official decision not to accept a claim, for example a tax expense

is the wider legal restriction that prevents an action rather than single refusal
forbiddance
vsbar
  • Formal
8.3

An official order not to do something

is a concise term for any official rule that prevents action

Antonyms

1.0

Official approval that lets you do something

authorization
  • Specialized
14 4.3

How a computer or app decides what a person can do

Idioms

bar none
  • Informal
9 6.5

To say there are no exceptions or rivals

1 3.9

Make a high goal for others to reach

To become a barrister and be officially allowed to work in court

Only small formal steps remain before the result is final

To not understand anything about a subject

Compounds

71 1.0

A sweet made of chocolate or sugar that you eat as a snack

45 7.3

A Jewish ceremony for a boy on his thirteenth birthday marking his religious responsibilities

25 1.0

A solid sweet made from cocoa, shaped like a bar to eat as a snack

16 1.0

A counter where people help themselves to salad toppings and dressings

13 6.2

A test that checks if a person can work as a lawyer in a country or state

10 1.3

A small place where people buy and eat sandwiches and drinks

9 1.5

A small baked snack made from oats, nuts, and honey, often with dried fruit

8 2.5

A bar that mainly serves wine

wet bar
  • US
7 4.5

A small counter with a sink for mixing and serving drinks

7 2.4

A place where chefs prepare and serve sushi at a counter

5 1.3

A small café where people buy coffee and light snacks

bar code
  • Specialized
4 2.5

A pattern of black bars and numbers on products that a scanner reads

4 1.4

A rectangular milk chocolate bar made by the Hershey company

4 1.0

A small solid piece that you use to wash your body or hands

3 6.1

A difficult standard to reach

3 3.5

A bar at a party or event where guests pay for their own drinks

pry bar
  • US
3 4.8

A heavy metal tool with a flat pointed end used to lift things and pull nails

3 1.0

A long key on a keyboard that adds a space between words

2 3.1

A chart that uses bars of different lengths to show and compare numbers

2 3.4

A strong bar attached to a wall that you hold for support, often in a bathroom

2 3.5

A restaurant that mainly serves oysters, raw or cooked

2 2.3

A bar fixed to a wall for hanging towels

1 3.0

A graph with bars that show and compare numbers for different groups

bar-hopping
  • Informal
1 3.7

Visiting several bars in one night to drink and socialize

bar wench
  • Slur
1 9.9

A woman who serves drinks in a bar, often in old stories or costume parties

1 8.2

An official exam a person must pass to become a lawyer

bar girl
  • Slang
1 8.1

A woman who talks and spends time with men in a bar to get tips or drinks

1 2.5

A sweet snack of nuts and sugar on a thin baked base cut into bars

title bar
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A bar at the top of a window that shows the document or program name

anti-sway bar
  • Specialized
1 6.0

A metal bar under a car that reduces how much the car leans in turns

bar line
  • Specialized
1 3.4

A vertical line on a music staff that shows where one group of beats ends and the next begins

bar-hopping
  • Informal
1 6.4

Relating to visiting several bars in one outing to drink and meet people

1 1.2

A baked sweet snack with chopped fruit cut into bars

milk bar
  • Australian
1 3.3

A small shop that sells milk drinks, ice cream and light snacks

high bar
  • Specialized
1 5.3

A horizontal bar high above the ground that gymnasts swing on

1 8.4

A bar where women talk with and serve drinks to customers

roll bar
  • Specialized
1 3.5

A strong metal bar inside a vehicle that protects people if it flips over

1 7.4

A long strong metal tool with a pointed end used to lift heavy things

1 7.7

A T-shaped bar that pulls skiers uphill

1 6.5

A long strong iron bar with a flat or forked end that you use to force things apart

A plant with large green leaves that people keep indoors for decoration

4.8

A sweet snack made from carob powder that people eat like chocolate

A horizontal bar fixed at a height for lifting your body until your chin is above it

color bar
  • Offensive
7.9

A system that keeps people of different races apart and often denies rights to Black people

2.7

A sweet baked slice made with chopped dates and a crumbly crust

double bar
  • Specialized
5.7

A pair of vertical lines in written music that show the end of a main section or the whole piece

double bar
  • Specialized
5.5

A symbol in programming that returns true when one or both conditions are true

A sweet baked slice with apricot jam or fruit

bar printer
  • Archaic
8.0

A machine that prints a whole line at once by hitting paper with a moving bar

bar sinister
  • Archaic
9.9

A diagonal band on a shield in heraldry running from the upper right to the lower left

bar sinister
  • Archaic
9.9

Being born to parents who were not married

bar star
  • Informal
7.8

A bartender who is very good at making drinks and attracts many customers

bar absolute
  • Specialized
9.9

A unit of pressure measured from complete vacuum and equal to the air pressure at sea level

8.2

A table game like pool where short cues hit balls into holes while knocking wooden pegs loses points

bar bit
  • Specialized
9.2

A solid metal bar that sits in a horse's mouth to help the rider control the horse

bar code
  • Specialized
3.5

A short piece of DNA used to identify a species

bar fly
  • Slang
8.1

A person who spends a lot of time drinking at bars

6.4

A protective face guard made of metal bars used by the catcher in baseball or softball

bar magnet
  • Specialized
3.7

A straight rectangular piece of metal that attracts iron and has opposite poles at each end

bar-lamb
  • Slang
9.9

A person who is kind and gentle and easily says yes to others

axle bar
  • Specialized
7.9

A strong metal rod that holds a vehicle's wheels

gill bar
  • Specialized
9.9

An arch of bone or flexible tissue at the side of a fish's throat that supports the gills

hitching bar
  • Archaic
9.1

A fixed horizontal bar that people tie horses to so they do not wander

A single metal pole fixed high between two posts that gymnasts swing and perform moves on

kangaroo bar
  • Informal
9.3

A bar with loud music and people dancing

needle bar
  • Specialized
6.9

A metal rod in a sewing machine that holds and moves the needle up and down

A sweet bar made of soft, chewy sugar and nuts often covered in chocolate

8.3

A long heavy metal tool with a flat chisel end for prying and a curved claw end for pulling nails

A sweet snack made from peanuts and syrup, shaped like a bar

3.1

A long narrow strip of sand in water that shows above the water

tamping bar
  • Specialized
9.3

A long heavy tool for packing material tightly into a hole or small space

A ski lift with a T-shaped bar that pulls skiers or snowboarders uphill as they hold it

torsion bar
  • Specialized
6.1

A metal bar under a vehicle that twists to act like a spring and absorb shocks

How Restrictive

prohibition
  • Formal
48 4.4
to ban
  • Formal
484 1.4
bar
  • Formal
335 6.1
restriction
340 3.0
limitation
167 3.3

Surface Forms

bar singular
bars plural

Etymology

A bar meaning an obstacle or legal rule comes from the idea of a barrier or 'bar' that prevents action, so a bar to doing something is a reason or rule that stops it.