horizontal bar
- noun
- /ˈhɔrɪzɒntəl bɑr/
:
barra horizontal
- The coach instructed the gymnasts to practice their routines on the horizontal bar before the big competition.
Examples
-
But it was still something of a shock to see her lying there wan and weak-looking when she had been spinning around a horizontal bar not so long ago.
Fiction book (1991) -
During the Olympics, athletes demonstrated their incredible balance and control while swinging on the horizontal bar.
-
Then I played on the horizontal bar, then fetched water.
Academic text (1998) -
Why doesn't U vertical for a horizontal bar like this?
-
Entering, he saw that someone was on the horizontal bar—someone slender and female, her hair bound tightly behind her head, moving too quickly to be easily identified.
Fiction book (1991) -
In gymnastics, competitors perform various routines on the horizontal bar to showcase their strength and skill.
Synonyms
1
5.3
A horizontal bar high above the ground that gymnasts swing on
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'horizontal' describes orientation and 'bar' names the rod-like apparatus, so a learner who knows both words can infer it is a bar positioned horizontally (the gymnastic apparatus). This adjective+noun, literal composition is common cross-linguistically and follows regular English noun phrase formation, making it immediately comprehensible to B1 learners.
Etymology
Horizontal bar comes from a simple picture: a long bar fixed so it is horizontal, that is, flat and level between two tall posts where gymnasts swing and do tricks. So today horizontal bar means the single metal bar used in gymnastics for swings and routines.