lower the bar

noun

1. any piece of wood, metal, etc. longer than it is wide or thick, often used as a barrier, fastening, lever, etc.
2. 1. an oblong piece or mass of something solid: bar of soap, chocolate bar
   2. any of various small metal strips worn to show military or other rank
3. a thing that blocks the way or prevents entrance, departure, or further movement; specif., sandbar
4. anything that hinders or prevents: illiteracy is a bar to success
5. a strip, stripe, band, or broad line, as of light or color
6. 1. the railing enclosing the part of a law court where the judges or lawyers sit, or where prisoners are brought to trial
   2. this part of the law court
7. 1. a law court or system of courts
   2. any place of judgment: the bar of public opinion
8. 1. lawyers collectively
   2. the legal profession
9. 1. a counter at which alcoholic drinks and sometimes food are served
   2. an establishment or room with such a counter
   3. an article of furniture, often on wheels, from which drinks, etc. are served
10. barre
11. the mouthpiece of a horse's bit, or the part of a horse's mouth into which it is fitted
12. in lace making and other needlework, a loop or tie that connects parts of a pattern
13. Heraldry a horizontal stripe on a shield or bearing
14. Law
    1. the defeat or nullifying of a claim or action
    2. anything that brings this about
15. Music
    1. a vertical line across a staff, dividing it into measures
    2. a measure
    3. double bar
16. Track & Field the horizontal bar used in the high jump or pole vault
17. Zool. either of the ends of the wall of a horse's hoof, curving inward toward the center of the sole

Origin: ME & OFr barre < ML barra, bar, barrier, prob. < Gaul *barros, the bushy end, akin to Ir bar, branch < IE *bhoros, cut wood < base *bher-, to cut with a sharp tool

transitive verb barred, barring

1. to fasten with or as with a bar
2. to obstruct by means of a bar or bars; shut off; close
3. to oppose, prevent, or forbid, as by legal action
4. to keep out; exclude: he was barred from the contest
5. to set aside: barring certain possibilities
6. to mark with stripes