baron
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level 2 something that shows or gives an idea of changes,
for example in public opinion: Tomorrow's by-election will
be a barometer of the mood in the whole country. —tric
/,bærəˈmetrk/ adj —trically /kli/ adv
bar·on /'bærən/ n 1 a British nobleman of the lowest
rank 2 (usually in comb.) a man, especially a businessman, who
has great power or influence: an oil baron | a press baron
who owns three national newspapers | union barons
bar·on·ess /'bærənɪs/ n (in Britain) a woman who is a) the
wife of a baron b) of that rank in her own right
bar·on·et /'bærənɪt, -net/ n a British KNIGHT lower in rank
than a baron, whose title passes on to his son when he dies
bar·on·et·cy /'bærənɪtsi/ n the rank of a baronet
ba·ro·ni·al /bə'rəʊniəl/ adj 1 of or related to a
BARON 2 large, rich, and noble: a baronial hall
bar·on·y /'bærəni/ n the rank of a BARON
ba·roque /bə'rɒk, bə'rəʊk||bə'rɑːk, -'rɑːk/ adj in a highly
decorated style which was fashionable in art, buildings,
music etc in Europe during the 17th century → compare
ROCOCO —baroque [the] n
barque /bɑːk||bɑːrk/ n a BARK
Barr, Ro·seanne /bɑːr, rəu'zæn/ (1953-) an American
female COMEDIAN who is known for having strong opinions,
for joking about things and people in a rude way, and for
being very large. She had a very popular television show
called Roseanne (1988-97), about the life of a WORKING-CLASS
American family.
bar·rack /'bærək/ v [I;T] 1 BrE to interrupt by 'shouting or
pretended cheering; JEER (at): They barracked (the speaker)
throughout the meeting. 2 AustrE to cheer in support (of)
bar·racks /'bærəks/ n pl. barracks [C+sing./pl. v] a building or
group of buildings that soldiers live in
bar·ra·cu·da /ˌbærə'kjuːdəl -'kuːdə/ n pl. -da or -das a
large fierce flesh-eating tropical fish
bar·rage¹ /'bærɑːʒ||bə'raːdʒ/ n a bank of earth, stones etc
built across a river to provide water for farming or to prevent
flooding
bar·rage² /'bærɑːʒ||bə'raːdʒ/ n 1 the continuous firing of a
number of heavy guns, done especially to give protection to
soldiers as they advance upon the enemy 2 [（of）] a large
number of questions, statements etc, made at almost the
same time or very quickly one after the other: a nonstop
barrage of questions | a barrage of criticism
barred /bɑːd||bɑːrd/ adj 1 having bars, especially of the
stated number: a five-barred gate 2 fml having bands of
different colours: barred feathers
bar·rel¹ /'bærəl/ n 1 a round usually wooden container with
curved sides and a flat top and bottom: a beer barrel | The
wine is left to mature in oak barrels. 2 [（of）] also bar·rel·ful
/-fʊl/ the amount of liquid that a barrel contains, especially
used as a unit of oil production: This country produces
almost 2 million barrels of oil per day. | The price of crude oil
has gone up by 50 cents a barrel. 3 a long tube-shaped part of
a gun: a rifle barrel 4 over a barrel infml in a position of
serious disadvantage: They're charging an exorbitant price
for fixing the car, but they've got us over a barrel because we
can't do without it. → see also lock, stock, and barrel
（LOCK¹）, scrape the （bottom of the） barrel （SCRAPE¹）
barrel² v [I- []] AmE infml to move fast, especially unsafely: He
barreled along the road at 90 miles an hour. | She went
barreling into the teacher as she ran around the corner.
barrel-'chested adj a man who is barrel-chested has a large
strong round chest
'barrel organ n a big musical instrument which can be
moved from place to place and is played by turning a
handle, usually by street musicians for money. In the past,
when street musicians played barrel organs, they often had a
pet monkey who sat on the barrel organ.
bar·ren /'bærən/ adj 1 (of women or female animals) not able
to produce children or young; INFERTILE 2 (of trees or plants)
producing no fruit or seed 3 (of soil) too poor to produce a
good crop: barren wastelands 4 useless; empty; producing
no result: a barren discussion —ness n [U]
bar·rette /bə'ret, bɑː-/ n AmE for HAIR SLIDE
bar·ri·cade¹ /ˌbær'keɪd, ˌbærɪ'keɪd/ n a quickly built structure of trees, earth, bricks etc, put across a road or passage to
stop anyone from passing or entering, and usually intended
for use over a limited time only
barricade² v [T] 1 to block off or close off with a barricade:
to barricade the street/the windows 2 [+obj+adv/prep] to
defend or shut in with a barricade: The terrorists barricaded
themselves in (the embassy).
Bar·rie, J.M. /'bæri/ (1860-1937) a Scottish writer of plays
and novels, best known for his children's story Peter Pan
bar·ri·er /'bærɪə/ n 1 something that is used to keep people
or things apart or to prevent or control their movement:
The police put up barriers to control the crowd. | Show your
ticket at the barrier before you board the train. | The football
fans broke through the barriers and rushed onto the pitch.
The cream acts as a barrier against infection. 2 [（to）] some-
thing non-physical that keeps people apart or prevents
activity, movement etc: social/ethnic/language barriers |
Lack of confidence is the biggest barrier to investment in the
region. | trade barriers such as import taxes
bar·ring /'bɑːrɪŋ/ prep except for: Barring any last-minute
problems (=if there are none) we should finish the job by
tonight. → see also BAR³
bar·ri·o /'bæriəʊ/ n AmE a poor part of an American town or
city where many Spanish-speaking people live; GHETTO: the
barrios of Los Angeles
bar·ris·ter /'bærɪstə/ n especially in England and Wales, a
lawyer who has the right of speaking in the higher courts of
law → compare ADVOCATE, SOLICITOR
'bar-room, bar room n a place where alcoholic drinks are
served → compare BAR¹
bar·row¹ /'bærəʊ/ n 1 a small cart with two or four wheels
on which fruit, vegetables etc are put to be sold in street
markets 2 a WHEELBARROW
barrow² n a TUMULUS
'barrow boy n especially BrE a man or boy who sells goods, e.g.
fruit or vegetables, from a barrow; COSTERMONGER
Bar·ry, Dave /'bæri, deɪv/ (1947-) a US writer who writes
funny books and newspaper COLUMNS. He won a Pulitzer
Prize for humorous COMMENTARY in 1988.
Barry, Mar·i·on /'mæriən/ (1936-) an American politician
who was MAYOR of Washington D.C. from 1980 to 1991
and from 1995 to 1998, although in 1990 he had been sent
to prison for using drugs. In 1997 President Clinton
removed all his powers, apart from his CEREMONIAL ones,
after Washington was said to be one of the worst-run cities
in the US.
Bar·ry·more, Drew /'bærimɔː/ (1975-) a US actress who
became famous as a child actress in the movie ET. Her
family is famous for having a lot of actors, including her
grandfather John Barrymore, who was a famous actor in the
1920s and 1930s. Her other films include The Wedding Singer
and the Charlie's Angels series of films.
Barrymore, Michael (1952-) a British COMEDIAN who
appeared on humorous television programmes and GAME
SHOWS (=programmes in which people answer questions
and compete to win prizes) in the 1980s and 1990s, but he
stopped being popular after an accident at his house in
which a man DROWNED in the swimming pool
'bar snack n BrE a light meal served in a PUB
Bart /bɑːt||bɑːrt/ written abbrev. for BARONET: Sir John Brown
Bart
bar·ten·der /'bɑː,tendə ||'bɑːr-/ n especially AmE for BARMAN
bar·ter /'bɑːtə ||'bɑːr-/ v [I;T(for, with)] to exchange (goods) for
other goods rather than for money; TRADE: They bartered
farm products for machinery. | (fig.) He bartered his freedom
away for a little comfort. —barter n [U] The system of barter
was superseded by the use of money.
Bart·lett's Fa·mil·iar Quo·ta·tions /ˌbɑtləts fəˌmɪliə
kwəʊˈteɪʃənz||ˌbɑːrtləts fəˌmɪliər-/ a book containing
phrases and PROVERBS, which shows where they all come
from. It was first produced by John Bartlett in 1855 and the
17th new EDITION was produced in 2002.
Bar·to·li, Ce·ci·li·a /ˌbɑːtəli ||'bɑːr-, tʃə'tiːliə/ (1966-) an
Italian OPERA singer who is known for her MEZZO-SOPRANO
voice.