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barrier Definition

bar·rier (bar′ē ər, ber′-)

noun

  1. Obsolete a fortress, stockade, etc. for defending an entrance or gate
  2. a thing that prevents passage or approach; obstruction, as a fence, wall, etc.
  3. anything that holds apart, separates, or hinders racial barriers, barriers to progress
  4. a customs gate on a country's border
  5. ice shelf
  6. a high fence of stakes enclosing the area in which a tournament of knights was held; lists
  7. Horse Racing the movable gate used to keep the horses in line at the starting point

Etymology: ME barrere < OFr barriere < barre, bar

barrier Synonyms

barrier

n.

bar, obstruction, difficulty, hindrance, obstacle, hurdle, fortification, stumbling block, fence, sound or sonic or transonic barrier, restriction, limitation, restraint, impediment, let, drawback, check, preventive, encumbrance, stop, stopper, block, stay, bulwark, barricade, rampart, wall, palisade, picket, roadblock, earthwork, breastwork, outwork, embankment, parapet, blockade, moat, trench, barbed wire, entanglement, pale, limit, boundary, iron curtain, bamboo curtain.

Antonyms way*, passage*, opening. See syn. study at impediment.impediment.

barrier Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • overcome: To help overcome these barriers TP Herts applied for an Innovation into Action Grant, which was awarded in June 2003.
  • remove: ICT seen to remove barriers - or create barriers where inequalities of family income or school funding exist.
  • erect: Chinese walls are the theoretical barriers erected between departments to try and avoid any such conflicts arising.
  • lower: It may also facilitate technological progress, by reducing firms ' switching costs and so lowering barriers to entry and barriers to change.
  • perceive: The ' Parent Know How ' campaign has been developed to break down some of the perceived barriers to asking for help.
  • transcend: Hopefully, I'll be able to transcend language barriers with visual storytelling.

Adjective modifier

  • non-tariff: Indeed, studies reveal no systematic relationship between a country's average level of tariff and non-tariff barriers and its subsequent economic growth rate.
  • protective: Protective barriers to foster indigenous farming, for example, are not allowed; neither are subsidies to support poorer farmers.
  • insurmountable: Addressing These Challenges Do such challenges provide an insurmountable barrier to deployment?
  • artificial: We would not want to see any artificial barriers placed in the way of appropriate recognition of new units of assessment.
  • invisible: In the game, it looks like an invisible barrier.
  • physical: It also creates a physical barrier between the teeth to protect them from further damage.

Modifies a noun

  • reef: The islands main attraction is the spectacular barrier reef, one of the world's premier diving spots.
  • coating: The litter tray is manufactured from re-cycled fibers, with a liquid resistant barrier coating.
  • cream: However, if a baby does have diaper rash then it is advisable to use a barrier cream.

Noun used with modifier

  • blood-brain: Elan researchers have recently shown for the first time that certain monoclonal antibodies can cross the blood-brain barrier.
  • tariff: That trend to world markets is irreversible unless the major economic powers set up trade and tariff barriers.
  • species: Crossing of the species barriers in the wild is normally very rare.
  • crash: Today not only was he introduced to wet weather racing, but he also had an introduction to a crash barrier.
  • vapor: Even more importantly it also acts as a vapor barrier preventing condensation forming and steel rusting from within the inside.