• | A piece of wood, metal, or other material, long in proportion
to its breadth or thickness, used as a lever and for various other
purposes, but especially for a hindrance, obstruction, or fastening;
as, the bars of a fence or gate; the bar of a door. |
• | An indefinite quantity of some substance, so shaped as to be
long in proportion to its breadth and thickness; as, a bar of gold or
of lead; a bar of soap. |
• | Anything which obstructs, hinders, or prevents; an
obstruction; a barrier. |
• | A bank of sand, gravel, or other matter, esp. at the mouth of
a river or harbor, obstructing navigation. |
• | Any railing that divides a room, or office, or hall of
assembly, in order to reserve a space for those having special
privileges; as, the bar of the House of Commons. |
• | The railing that incloses the place which counsel occupy in
courts of justice. Hence, the phrase at the bar of the court signifies
in open court. |
• | The place in court where prisoners are stationed for
arraignment, trial, or sentence. |
• | The whole body of lawyers licensed in a court or district; the
legal profession. |
• | A special plea constituting a sufficient answer to plaintiff's
action. |
• | Any tribunal; as, the bar of public opinion; the bar of God. |
• | A barrier or counter, over which liquors and food are passed
to customers; hence, the portion of the room behind the counter where
liquors for sale are kept. |
• | An ordinary, like a fess but narrower, occupying only one
fifth part of the field. |
• | A broad shaft, or band, or stripe; as, a bar of light; a bar
of color. |
• | A vertical line across the staff. Bars divide the staff into
spaces which represent measures, and are themselves called measures. |
• | The space between the tusks and grinders in the upper jaw of a
horse, in which the bit is placed. |
• | The part of the crust of a horse's hoof which is bent inwards
towards the frog at the heel on each side, and extends into the center
of the sole. |
• | A drilling or tamping rod. |
• | A vein or dike crossing a lode. |
• | A gatehouse of a castle or fortified town. |
• | A slender strip of wood which divides and supports the glass
of a window; a sash bar. |
• | To fasten with a bar; as, to bar a door or gate. |
• | To restrict or confine, as if by a bar; to hinder; to
obstruct; to prevent; to prohibit; as, to bar the entrance of evil;
distance bars our intercourse; the statute bars my right; the right is
barred by time; a release bars the plaintiff's recovery; -- sometimes
with up. |
• | To except; to exclude by exception. |
• | To cross with one or more stripes or lines. |