Barb Meaning
/bɑː(ɹ)b/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe point that stands backward in an arrow, fishhook, etc., to prevent it from being easily extracted. Hence: Anything which stands out with a sharp point obliquely or crosswise to something else.
nounA hurtful or disparaging remark.
Sentence Examples
The barb on fishhooks make them difficult to remove.
My coat got caught on a barb on the barbed wire.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Each hook had a sharp ____ that made it hard to remove.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The fish hook has a small ____ to prevent it from slipping out.
Word Origin & History
PIE word *bʰardʰéh₂ From Middle English barbe, from Middle French barbe, from Old French barbe (“beard, beard-like element”). Doublet of beard.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Having two barbs or points."
— 1545, Roger Ascham, Toxophilus:
"And she was the only girl in class who did not, sometime through the lesson, get a barb of sarcasm from Miss Brownell, though she made as many mistakes as the rest of them."
— 1923, Lucy Maud Montgomery, “Chapter 8”, in Emily of New Moon:
"“Maybe I just wanted to come and see for myself if you were real. Or if you were a figment of my imagination.” The barb hurt, but she didn't blame him."
— 2018, Elle Wright, Wherever You Are (The Jacksons of Ann Arbor), HarperCollins, →ISBN:
"His barbs about fake accounts have weakened trust in Twitter, just as the company prepares to moderate heated political discussions about an upcoming election in Brazil and the midterm elections this fall in the United States, misinformation experts said."
— 2022 July 11, Kate Conger, Mike Isaac, “How Elon Musk Damaged Twitter and Left It Worse Off”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
"The barbel is so called […]by reason of his barbs, or wattles at his mouth."
— 1653, Iz[aak] Wa[lton], The Compleat Angler or The Contemplative Man’s Recreation. Being a Discourse of Fish and Fishing, […], London: […] T. Maxey for Rich[ard] Marriot, […], →OCLC; reprinted as The Compleat Angler (Homo Ludens; 6), Nieuwkoop, South Holland, Netherlands: Miland Publishers, 1969, →ISBN:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Each hook had a sharp ____ that made it hard to remove.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The fish hook has a small ____ to prevent it from slipping out.