barrel Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a tube through which a bullet travels when a gun is fired
    gun barrel.
  2. noun a cylindrical container that holds liquids
    cask.
  3. noun a bulging cylindrical shape; hollow with flat ends
    drum.
  4. noun the quantity that a barrel (of any size) will hold
    barrelful.
  5. noun any of various units of capacity
    bbl.
    • a barrel of beer is 31 gallons and a barrel of oil is 42 gallons
  6. verb put in barrels

WordNet

Bar"rel noun
Etymology
OE. barel, F. baril, prob. fr. barre bar. Cf. Barricade.
Definitions
  1. A round vessel or cask, of greater length than breadth, and bulging in the middle, made of staves bound with hoops, and having flat ends or heads.
  2. The quantity which constitutes a full barrel. This varies for different articles and also in different places for the same article, being regulated by custom or by law. A barrel of wine is 31½ gallons; a barrel of flour is 196 pounds.
  3. A solid drum, or a hollow cylinder or case; as, the barrel of a windlass; the barrel of a watch, within which the spring is coiled.
  4. A metallic tube, as of a gun, from which a projectile is discharged. Knight.
  5. A jar. Obs. 1 Kings xvii. 12.
  6. (Zoöl.) The hollow basal part of a feather.
Bar"rel transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Barreled (), or Barrelled; present participle & verbal noun Barreling, or Barrelling
Definitions
  1. To put or to pack in a barrel or barrels.

Webster 1913