barrier

(băr'ē-ər)
n.

1. A structure, such as a fence, built to bar passage.
2. Something immaterial that obstructs or impedes: Intolerance is a barrier to understanding. See synonyms at obstacle.
3. Physiology. A membrane, tissue, or mechanism that blocks the passage of certain substances.
4. Ecology. A physical or biological factor that limits the migration, interbreeding, or free movement of individuals or populations.
5. A boundary or limit.
6. Something that separates or holds apart.
7. A movable gate that keeps racehorses in line before the start of a race.
8. The palisades or fences enclosing the lists of a medieval tournament. Often used in the plural.
9. Geology. An ice barrier.

[Middle English barrer, from Old French barriere, from Vulgar Latin *barrāria, from *barra, bar.]

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noun

1. A solid structure that encloses an area or separates one area from another: partition, wall. See include/exclude, thing.
2. Something that impedes or prevents entry or passage: bar, barricade, block, blockage, clog, hamper, hindrance, hurdle, impediment, obstacle, obstruction, snag, stop, traverse, wall. See help/harm/harmless, open/close.

n

Definition: difficulty
Antonyms: advantage, aid, help

n

Definition: obstruction to goal
Antonyms: opening

In geomorphology, a general term for any offshore depositional form, usually running parallel to the coast or across an estuary, and above water at normal tides. In north-west Europe, barriers are thought to have originated during the Flandrian transgression when the sea engulfed coastal plains. The clay and silt were carried offshore and the coarser sand and shingle are thought to have been pushed landward. A barrier bar is a longshore shingle bar, formed off a gently sloping coast made of unconsolidated sediments; a barrier beach, such as Chesil Bank, Dorset, is a small shingle feature protecting a coast from erosion. Many barrier beaches have formed on the shores of the Mediterranean; the Andalusian coast near Calahonda furnishes a good example.

1. Same as barricade.
2. According to the Architectural Barriers Act, any obstacle to the accessibility of a building by disabled people.

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In psychology, an insurmountable obstacle that interferes with the satisfaction of a need. The barrier may be environmental or within an individual.

(DOD) A coordinated series of obstacles designed or employed to channel, direct, restrict, delay, or stop the movement of an opposing force and to impose additional losses in personnel, time, and equipment on the opposing force. Barriers can exist naturally, be manmade, or a combination of both.

IN BRIEF: A fence, wall, or other thing that blocks the way or keeps one from going on.

The barrier kept the dogs from getting out of the yard.

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A barrier may signify that the dreamer is experiencing some obstacle in an arena of his or her life.

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an extracellular protein, probably a protease, excreted by yeast cells of mating type a. Its role may be to act as an antagonist of the α-type mating pheromone, and to establish optimal pheromone concentration for conjugation.

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An obstruction; a partition between two fluid compartments in the body.

• blood–air b. — alveolocapillary membrane.
• blood–aqueous b. — the physiological mechanism that prevents exchange of materials between the chambers of the eye and the blood.
• blood–brain b. (BBB) — the barrier separating the blood from the brain parenchyma. See also blood–brain barrier.
• blood–CSF b. — differs from the blood–brain barrier anatomically, in that it consists of the epithelium of the choroid plexuses, but has similar permeabilities.
• blood–gas b. — alveolocapillary membrane.
• b.–retina barrier — endothelium of the retinal capillaries and cells of the retinal pigment epithelium form a nonfenestrated barrier between choroidal tissue fluid and retinal tissue fluid.
• blood–synovial b. — suggested by the presence of plasma proteins of small molecular size and catabolic products of articular cartilage in synovial fluid.
• blood–testis b. — a barrier separating the blood from the seminiferous tubules, consisting of special junctional complexes between adjacent Sertoli cells near the base of the seminiferous epithelium. It provides an extravascular environment which is also adluminal and permits selective nourishment of spermatozoa.
• b. boot — a rubber boot worn by horses to protect the hoof against trauma.
• b. cream — a nonwettable cream used on the skin of the hands and arms to protect against staining and odor absorption when handling offensive materials, e.g. delivery of an emphysematous fetus.
• gastric mucosal b. — the poorly defined mechanism that prevents back diffusion of hydrochloric acid from the stomach into the tissues of the stomach wall.
• skin b. — the protective properties of skin and its relative impenetrability by noxious substances as well as medicaments; usually considered a function of keratinized epithelial cells aided by surface lipids.
• b. teat dip — material which leaves a physical protective coat on the teat between milkings, used mostly to protect against infection for long periods, e.g. during the dry period. Most contain acrylic, latex or collodion.

See words rhyming with "barrier."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Barrier.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - barriere, vejspærring, blokering

idioms:

• barrier method    svangerskabsforebyggende metode
• barrier reef    kystrev, koralkystrev

Nederlands (Dutch)
barrière, slagboom, hindernis, controle, versperring

Français (French)
n. - barrière, obstacle, barrage, barricade, (Rail) portillon (d'accès), (fig) obstacle à

idioms:

• barrier method    méthode de contraception mécanique
• barrier reef    barrière, récif de corail

Deutsch (German)
n. - Barriere, Hindernis, Schranke, Absperrung

idioms:

• barrier method    Physische Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmethode
• barrier reef    Barriereriff

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - φράγμα, φράκτης, εμπόδιο, φραγμός, διαχωριστικό κιγκλίδωμα

idioms:

• barrier method    αντισυλληπτική μέθοδος φραγμού
• barrier reef    φράκτης από κοραλλιογενείς υφάλους

Italiano (Italian)
barriera, barricata, sbarra

idioms:

• barrier method    metodo contraccettivo
• barrier reef    barriera corallina

Português (Portuguese)
n. - barreira (f), cerca (f)

idioms:

• barrier method    método anticoncepcional através de barreira
• barrier reef    barreira (f) de recifes
• crash barrier    cerca (f) entre pistas
• sound barrier    barreira (f) do som

Русский (Russian)
барьер, препятствие, шлагбаум

idioms:

• barrier method    метод локальной контрацепции, блокирующее поведение напр. на разрешение конфликта
• barrier reef    коралловый риф
• crash barrier    аварийное препятствие
• sound barrier    звуковой барьер

Español (Spanish)
n. - barrera, obstáculo, parapeto, valla, portal de salida

idioms:

• barrier method    método de barrera (contracepción)
• barrier reef    banco o barrera de coral

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - barriär, hinder, avspärrning, spärr, bom

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
障碍, 栅栏

idioms:

• barrier method    保险套, 以保险套做为避孕的方法
• barrier reef    堤礁

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 障礙, 柵欄

idioms:

• barrier method    保險套, 以保險套做為避孕的方法
• barrier reef    堤礁

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 방벽, 장벽, 울타리

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - さく, 改札口, 障害

idioms:

• barrier method    コンドームなどを使った避妊方法
• barrier reef    堡礁

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) سد, مانع, فاصل‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מחסום, סייג, שער בחניון, תחנת-רכבת וכו' לוויסות התנועה‬

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