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barrel

 
Dictionary: bar·rel   (băr'əl) pronunciation
 
n.
  1. A large cylindrical container, usually made of staves bound together with hoops, with a flat top and bottom of equal diameter.
  2. The quantity that a barrel with a given or standard capacity will hold.
  3. (Abbr. bar. or bbl. or bl.) Any of various units of volume or capacity. In the U.S. Customary System it varies, as a liquid measure, from 31 to 42 gallons (120 to 159 liters) as established by law or usage.
  4. The cylindrical part or hollow shaft of any of various mechanisms, as:
    1. The metal, cylindrical part of a firearm through which the bullet travels.
    2. A cylinder that contains a movable piston.
    3. The drum of a capstan.
    4. The cylinder within the mechanism of a timepiece that contains the mainspring.
  5. The trunk of a quadruped animal, such as a horse or cow.
  6. Informal. A large quantity: a barrel of fun.
  7. Slang. An act or instance of moving rapidly, often recklessly, in a motor vehicle.
adj.

Likened to a barrel, as in shape: a barrel chest; barrel hips.


v., -reled or -relled, -rel·ing or -rel·ling, -rels or -rels.

v.tr.

To put or pack in a barrel.

v.intr. Slang.

To move at a high speed or rate of progress: “That the European Union barreled ahead was not surprising” (Richard W. Stevenson).

idioms:

on the barrel (or barrelhead)

  1. Granting, giving, or requesting no credit: paid cash on the barrel for the car.
over a barrel
  1. In a very awkward position from which extrication is difficult: During the negotiations the opposing faction had us over a barrel.

[Middle English barel, from Old French baril.]


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A measurement of volume, widely used in the chemical industry, equal to 35 UK gallons (approximately 159 litres).



 
Food and Nutrition: barrel
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A standard barrel contains 36 gallons. (36 imperial gallons (UK) = 163.6 L; 36 US gallons = 113.7 L.)

 
Thesaurus: barrel
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noun

    A great deal: abundance, mass, mountain, much, plenty, profusion, wealth, world. Informal heap, lot, pack, peck, pile. Regional power, sight. See big/small/amount.

verb

    To move swiftly: bolt, bucket, bustle, dart, dash, festinate, flash, fleet, flit, fly, haste, hasten, hurry, hustle, pelt, race, rocket, run, rush, sail, scoot, scour, shoot, speed, sprint, tear, trot, whirl, whisk, whiz, wing, zip, zoom. Informal hotfoot, rip. Slang highball. Chiefly British nip. Idioms: get a move on, get cracking, go like lightning, go like the wind, hotfoot it, make haste, make time, make tracks, run like the wind, shake a leg, stepjumpon it. See move/halt.

 

n. a tube forming part of a gun: I saw two flashes from the barrel of the gun.

with both barrels informal with unrestrained force or emotion.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

 
Measures and Units: barrel
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bbl.

A bulk-measure cask, with established volumes and quantities for various commodities in historic marketplaces, = ⅛ tun.

volume US-C liq Generally = 31.5 US gal (119.24~ L), but brewers' barrel = 31 US gal (117.35~ L), and petroleum barrel = 42 US gal (158.99~ L); for energy see b.o.e.

US-C dry Generally = 7 056 in3 (115.63~ L, 3.281~ US bu), but for cement = 4 ft 3 = 6 912 in3 (113.26~ L) but defined by mass.

mass As accepted values for a nominal barrel.

US-C For cement, = 4 bags of 94 lb = 376 lb (170.55~ kg).

Canada For cement, = 350 lb (158.76~ kg).

 
Architecture: barrel
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1. A weight measure for portland cement in the US, corresponding to 376 pounds net; this measure is now obsolete.
2. (US) A vessel which holds 311/2 gal of liquid.
3. That portion of a pipe having a constant bore and wall thickness.


 

A wooden container of varying size used to age store, and sometimes ferment and ship wine. oak is the wood of choice, although redwood and chestnut are sometimes used. barriques, butts, feuilletes, hogsheads, pièces and puncheons are some of the names for different barrels used in the wine-producing process. See also cooperage.

 

A horseman's expression for the horse's trunk; determined largely by the capacity of the chest.

  • b. chest — enlarged, round cross-section of chest with the ribs appearing to be permanently in an inflated position.
  • b. hocks — turned out causing the feet to turn inward.
 
Unit Conversions: barrels (US dry)
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To convert from barrels (US dry) to:

cu. inches, multiply by 7056.
quarts (dry), multiply by 105.

Convert:  Into: 
Result: 
Related measurements:
barrels (US liquid)


 
Word Tutor: barrel
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: A large, round wooden container with curved sides and a flat top and bottom.

pronunciation The barrel was filled to the top with water after the rainstorm.

 
Translations: Barrel
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - tønde, tromle
v. tr. - fylde på tønde
v. intr. - køre hurtigt
adj. - tønde-

idioms:

  • a barrel of fun    masser af morskab
  • a barrel of laughs    more sig kongeligt
  • barrel organ    lirekasse
  • on the barrel    på bordet
  • over a barrel    være på spanden, være i knibe

Nederlands (Dutch)
ton, grote hoeveelheid, vat, cilinder, romp, trommel, hard rijden, in vaten leggen de hele santenkraam

Français (French)
n. - baril, tonneau, réservoir, fût, barrique, futaille, caque (hareng), baril (de pétrole), canon, corps (d'un stylo à encre), barillet, (petit) baril
v. tr. - mettre en fût
v. intr. - (US) foncer, aller à toute pompe (fam)
adj. - à sa merci

idioms:

  • a barrel of fun    ne pas être très marrant (iro)
  • a barrel of laughs    ne pas être très marrant (iro)
  • barrel organ    orgue de barbarie
  • on the barrel    (au) comptant
  • over a barrel    (tenir) qn à sa merci

Deutsch (German)
n. - Tonne, Fass
v. - rasen, in Fässer füllen
adj. - fassförmig, in Fässer gefüllt

idioms:

  • a barrel of fun    jede Menge Spaß
  • a barrel of laughs    jede Menge Spaß
  • barrel organ    Drehorgel
  • on the barrel    pünktlich, sofort
  • over a barrel    hilflos ausgeliefert

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - βαρέλι, βυτίο, κάννη (όπλου κ.λπ.), σωλήνας, κύλινδρος
v. - τοποθετώ σε βαρέλι(α), πάω του σκοτωμού

idioms:

  • a barrel of fun    φοβερή πλάκα
  • a barrel of laughs    φοβερή πλάκα
  • barrel organ    ρομβία, λατέρνα
  • on the barrel    τοις μετρητοίς
  • over a barrel    στο χέρι

Italiano (Italian)
barile, serbatoio, canna

idioms:

  • a barrel of fun    pacchia
  • barrel of laughs    risata a piena gola
  • barrel organ    organetto
  • lock, stock and barrel    armi e bagagli
  • on the barrel    in contanti
  • over a barrel    al verde
  • scrape the bottom of the barrel    toccare il fondo, arrivare alle briciole

Português (Portuguese)
n. - barril (m), casco (m), tambor (m), cano (m) de espingarda
v. - embarrilar

idioms:

  • a barrel of fun    pessoa divertida
  • a barrel of laughs    uma pessoa divertida
  • barrel organ    realejo (m)
  • lock, stock and barrel    todas as coisas envolvidas em uma transação
  • on the barrel    acordo feito através de troca direta
  • over a barrel    sem esperança
  • rifle barrel    cano de revólver
  • scrape the bottom of the barrel    usar os últimos recursos

Русский (Russian)
бочка, вал, втулка, ствол, барабанная полость

idioms:

  • a barrel of fun    море удовольствия
  • barrel of laughs    обхохочешься
  • barrel organ    механическое пианино
  • lock, stock and barrel    абсолютно все
  • on the barrel    деньги на бочку
  • over a barrel    во власти
  • rifle barrel    дуло ружья
  • scrape the bottom of the barrel    выбирать из худшего

Español (Spanish)
n. - barril, tonel, bidón, cuba, depósito
v. tr. - embarrilar, entonelar
v. intr. - poner en barriles o toneles, embarrilar
adj. - embarrilado, entonelado, envasado en toneles o barriles

idioms:

  • a barrel of fun    muy divertido
  • a barrel of laughs    muy divertido
  • barrel organ    organillo
  • on the barrel    sin pedir ni otorgar crédito
  • over a barrel    estar con el agua al cuello

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - fat, tunna, cylinder, bösspipa, bläckbehållare i reservoarpenna
v. - lägga i fat

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
桶, 装入桶内, 高速行进, 桶形的

idioms:

  • a barrel of fun    十分有趣
  • a barrel of laughs    十分有趣, 非常好笑
  • barrel organ    手风琴
  • on the barrel    以现金, 现付的
  • over a barrel    受制于人, 处于不利地位

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 桶
v. tr. - 裝入桶內
v. intr. - 高速行進
adj. - 桶形的

idioms:

  • a barrel of fun    十分有趣
  • a barrel of laughs    十分有趣, 非常好笑
  • barrel organ    手風琴
  • on the barrel    以現金, 現付的
  • over a barrel    受制於人, 處於不利地位

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 통, 한 통의 양
v. tr. - ~을 통에 넣다
v. intr. - 고속으로 달리다
adj. - 통의, 다량의

idioms:

  • a barrel of fun    크나큰 즐거움
  • a barrel of laughs    큰 웃음
  • over a barrel    궁지에 몰려

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 樽, バレル, 樽状部, 銃身, 胴体, たくさん, 政治資金
v. - 樽に入れる

idioms:

  • a barrel of fun    大変おもしろいこと
  • barrel of laughs    大笑い
  • barrel organ    バーレルオルガン
  • on the barrel    即金で
  • over a barrel    身動きできないで

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) برميل, ماسورة البندقيه أو المدفع (فعل) يضع في برميل, يسرع‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮חבית, מכל גלילי, קנה-רובה, קנה-אקדח, הבטן ובשר המותניים של חיה על ארבע, גליל בוכנה, כמות גדולה, גלגל של חבל‬
v. tr. - ‮אחסן בחבית‬
v. intr. - ‮נהג במהירות גבוהה‬
adj. - ‮של חבית‬


 
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Some good "barrel" pages on the web:


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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Chemistry Dictionary. A Dictionary of Chemistry. Sixth Edition. Copyright © Market House Books Ltd, 2008. All rights reserved.  Read more
Food and Nutrition. A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2005 by A. E. Bender and D. A. Bender. All rights reserved.  Read more
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
US Military Dictionary. The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. Copyright © 2001, 2002 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Measures and Units. A Dictionary of Weights, Measures, and Units. Copyright © Donald Fenna 2002, 2004. All rights reserved.  Read more
Architecture. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wine Lover's Companion. Wine Lover's Companion. Copyright © 2003 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
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