Barrier

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈbæɹɪə(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -æɹiÉ™(ɹ)

Origin

From Old French barriere (cf. French barrière).

Full definition of barrier

Noun

1. A structure that bars passage.
2. An obstacle or impediment.
• 2013-06-01, Towards the end of poverty, America’s poverty line is $63 a day for a family of four. In the richer parts of the emerging world $4 a day is the poverty barrier. But poverty’s scourge is fiercest below $1.25 (…): people below that level live lives that are poor, nasty, brutish and short.
3. A boundary or limit.

Derived terms