noun
barrel
BARL
noun
1
A large, round wooden or metal container, usually bulging in the middle, used to store liquids or other goods.
"The wine had been aging in oak barrels for over a decade."
"They rolled the barrel of beer down the ramp into the cellar."
2
A unit of volume, especially for measuring oil.
"The price of oil rose to over ninety dollars a barrel."
3
The long metal tube of a gun through which a bullet travels.
"He checked that the rifle's barrel was clean before loading it."
verb
1
To move very fast, often in an uncontrolled way.
"The truck came barreling down the highway well over the speed limit."
How to Use Barrel
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA large cylindrical container for liquids, a unit for measuring oil, the tube of a gun — or, as a verb, to move fast and out of control.
Common pairings
a barrel of oil
barrel down the road
gun barrel
oak barrel
Word Forms
barreled past tense, barrelled past tense, barrels plural, barrels singular
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The wine had been aging in oak _____ for over a decade.
Etymology
From Middle English barel, via Anglo-Norman baril, of uncertain deeper origin — possibly linked to a Germanic word for a storage container, or to "bear" in the sense of carrying something.