parallel bars
2
4.7
- noun
- /ˈpærəˌlɛl bɑrz/
:
barras paralelas
- During practice, the gymnast effortlessly performed a routine on the parallel bars.
- set of parallel bars
Examples
-
So happy your therapist had some parallel bars you could try.
Blog text (18) -
Next she tried the parallel bars, slipped off, didn't hurt herself, and bounced back up again.
Fiction book (2001) -
We'll try the parallel bars.
-
All right, let's get you up on those parallel bars.
-
Ideally, at least two sets of parallel bars are desirable.
Academic text (1996) -
But today her therapist let us borrow her set of parallel bars to try out at home.
Blog text (18) -
For each type of gait, subjects had to walk back and forth at least once between the parallel bars.
Academic text (1991) -
Lindsay looked longingly at the parallel bars.
Fiction book (1995) -
We have this system of parallel bars at handgrip height—maybe two and a half feet apart.
Fiction book (1994) -
The gym has simple but enhanced sports facilities: horizontal bars, parallel bars, "health disks," and swing, badminton, and volleyball playgrounds.
Blog text (31)
Synonyms
4
4.6
Two horizontal rods on vertical posts that gymnasts use
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly composed from 'parallel' (two things the same distance apart) + 'bars' (long rods), so a learner can easily infer a pair of horizontal bars placed parallel to each other used for exercise. This noun-noun composition is cross-linguistically common and follows transparent English compounding patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will understand the MWE.
Etymology
Parallel bars gives a simple image: two long bars placed side by side and at the same height, so they are parallel. Gymnasts use this equipment to balance, swing and do tricks, so the name refers to that 'gymnastics' equipment.