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Glite Dictionary
🪝 To add sharp points 🪝 A sharp point 💬 A hurtful remark 🪶 A feather strand
to barb

to barb

58 8.1
To put sharp backward-facing points on something like a hook or wire
  • verb
  • /bɑrb/
translation icon : poner púas a
  • She will barb the fishing hooks to ensure that they catch more fish.

Examples

  • The workers decided to barb the fence to keep intruders out.

  • He wants to barb the edges of the wooden sign for safety purposes.

  • Someone left some barbed wire in the middle of the road.

    Wrong Turn (2003)

  • You could still see the barbed wire marks on him.

    Pet Sematary (1989)

  • The boys took off, but one boy got caught in the barbed wire fence.

    Academic text (2016)

  • I'd cover the villa with barbed wire and board up the windows.

    Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022)

  • He's caught on the barbed wire.

    Man-Made Monster (1941)

  • Then a woman who had joined our party caught her stockings on the barbed wire.

    Academic text (2006)

  • Carlton kept some barbed wire around here somewheres, see if you can find it.

    Revenge (1986)

  • The other, Billy, approaches, crawling through a barbed wire fence, dragging something behind him.

    Fiction book (1993)

Antonyms

smooth
256 1.0

A surface that is even and not rough

blunt
109 1.0

An object with a dull edge or tip that does not cut well

Phrasal Verbs

to add a barb
  • Offensive
7.5

To say a sharp, hurtful comment to make someone feel bad

Surface Forms

barb infinitive
barbed past
barbed past participle
barbing present participle
barbs third person singular

Etymology

Barb as a verb comes from the noun barb and the old Latin barba 'beard'; it means to give something those small, sharp points. That's why to barb a hook or wire is to put barbs on it so it will hold better.