Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary полностью

4 ADJ If you describe a room or a place as barren , you do not like it because it has almost no furniture or other objects in it. [WRITTEN , DISAPPROVAL ] □ [+ of ] The room was austere, nearly barren of furniture or decoration.

5 ADJ A barren woman or female animal is unable to have babies. [OLD-FASHIONED ] □  He prayed that his barren wife would one day have a child.

bar|ri|cade /bæ r I ke I d, [AM ] -ke I d/ (barricades , barricading , barricaded )

1 N‑COUNT A barricade is a line of vehicles or other objects placed across a road or open space to stop people getting past, for example during street fighting or as a protest. □  Large areas of the city have been closed off by barricades set up by the demonstrators.

2 VERB If you barricade something such as a road or an entrance, you place a barricade or barrier across it, usually to stop someone getting in. □ [V n] The rioters barricaded streets with piles of blazing tyres. □ [be V -ed] The doors had been barricaded.

3 VERB If you barricade yourself inside a room or building, you place barriers across the door or entrance so that other people cannot get in. □ [V n prep/adv] The students have barricaded themselves into their dormitory building. □ [be V -ed] About forty prisoners are still barricaded inside the wrecked buildings.

bar|ri|er ◆◇◇ /bæ riə ^r / (barriers )

1 N‑COUNT A barrier is something such as a rule, law, or policy that makes it difficult or impossible for something to happen or be achieved. □ [+ to ] Duties and taxes are the most obvious barrier to free trade. [Also + against/between ]

2 N‑COUNT A barrier is a problem that prevents two people or groups from agreeing, communicating, or working with each other. □  There is no reason why love shouldn't cross the age barrier. □  When you get involved in sports and athletes, a lot of the racial barriers are broken down. [Also + between ]

3 N‑COUNT A barrier is something such as a fence or wall that is put in place to prevent people from moving easily from one area to another. □  The demonstrators broke through heavy police barriers. □  As each woman reached the barrier one of the men glanced at her papers.

4 N‑COUNT A barrier is an object or layer that physically prevents something from moving from one place to another. □ [+ between ] …a severe storm, which destroyed a natural barrier between the house and the lake. □  The packaging must provide an effective barrier to prevent contamination of the product.

5 N‑SING You can refer to a particular number or amount as a barrier when you think it is significant, because it is difficult or unusual to go above it. □ [+ of ] They are fearful that unemployment will soon break the barrier of three million.

6 → see also crash barrier , sound barrier

ba r|ri|er meth|od (barrier methods ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] Barrier methods of contraception involve the use of condoms, diaphragms, or other devices that physically prevent the sperm from reaching the egg.

bar|ring /bɑː r I ŋ/ PREP You use barring to indicate that the person, thing, or event that you are mentioning is an exception to your statement. □  Barring accidents, I believe they will succeed.

bar|rio /bɑː rioʊ/ (barrios )

1 N‑COUNT A barrio is a mainly Spanish-speaking area in an American city. [AM ] □  …the barrios of Santa Cruz.

2 N‑COUNT A barrio is an urban district in a Spanish-speaking country. [mainly AM ] □  …the barrios of Mexico City.

bar|ris|ter /bæ r I stə ^r / (barristers ) N‑COUNT In England and Wales, a barrister is a lawyer who represents clients in the higher courts of law. Compare solicitor .