🛢️ A large container 📏 A liquid unit 🔫 A gun tube 🏎️ To rush fast ⭕ A round shape 📦 To pack in barrels

barrel

9 1.0

A rounded hollow shape like a large cylinder with flat ends

noun
/ˈbærəl/

: cilindro

Their father rolled open barrels of the iron shavings around the building.
barrel-shaped
barrel-chested
barrel chest

Click all over, spray and pull the hair really tight over the barrel.

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Examples

Get those water barrels off my square!

Too Late the Hero (1970)
Okay, now go in here and use your lightning to blow up those barrels.

Grandma's Boy (2006)
Rob, you push forward to that next set of blue barrels.

Paintball Massacre (2020)
The closer one had a barrel-shaped body and short arms and legs.

Fiction book (1999)
A papier-mache musical box in the shape of a barrel organ.

The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
American reserves had grown from 21 billion barrels in 1948 to 38 billion barrels by 1972.

Academic text (1993)
We've got a nice area of the barrel right here that's cylindrical...

NOVA: Cold Case JFK (2013)
The wine was aged in a large oak barrel for several years to enhance its flavor.
The fisherman loaded his catch into a sturdy plastic barrel before heading home.
After the storm, we found a metal barrel washed up on the beach, still intact.

Synonyms

drum

vsbarrel

21 1.0

A large metal cylinder for storing and moving liquids and powders

is a bulging hollow cylinder with flat ends rather than straight sides

Idioms

the bottom of the barrel

Informal

12 6.6

The worst choices left after better ones are gone

over a barrel

Informal

10 7.9

Helpless and unable to act because someone else is in control

barrel of laughs

Informal

6 4.2

Someone or something that is very funny and enjoyable

to scrape the bottom of the barrel

Informal

5 7.5

Use the least good options because nothing better is left

left over a barrel

Informal

8.7

In a situation where you cannot act freely and must accept someone else's decision

Compounds

pork barrel

Jargon

13 7.9

Government money used for local projects to please voters

gun barrel

7 3.9

A long metal tube in a gun that a bullet travels through when fired

barrel roll

Specialized

3 7.8

A flying stunt where a plane makes one full turn while rolling as it moves forward

trash barrel

3 1.1

A large round bin for holding rubbish until someone collects it

rain barrel

2 3.3

A large container that collects rainwater from roofs for later use

barrel of monkeys

Informal

2 6.3

A very fun and enjoyable situation or activity

beer barrel

1 2.7

A large round container that holds beer for keeping or moving

wine barrel

1 3.1

A barrel that stores and ages wine

pickle barrel

1 3.1

A large wooden barrel that holds cucumbers or vegetables in vinegar

barrel-shaped

1 4.1

Having a round shape that is wider in the middle like a drum

barrel cactus

1 6.8

A large round cactus with ribs and sharp spines that grows in deserts

barrel vault

Specialized

1 7.9

A curved ceiling made by one long arch, like half a cylinder

barrel knot

Jargon

1 8.6

A knot people who fish use to join two lines by wrapping the ends together

barrel maker

1 6.2

A person who makes and fixes wooden barrels and tubs

barrel organ

Archaic

1 8.6

A machine that makes music when you turn a handle

barrel of sunshine

Informal

1 5.0

A person or thing that brings joy and warmth to others

golden barrel cactus

1 7.5

A large round cactus with golden spines and pale yellow flowers often grown in gardens

How Big

vat

40 3.6

drum

21 1.0

cask

12 6.1

barrel

9 1.0

keg

77 2.0

Surface Forms

barrel singular

barrels plural

Etymology

Barrel can mean a bulging hollow shape because that shape looks like a large 'barrel' container. That's why we describe objects as 'barrel-shaped' when they are round and hollow.