bar n 1: a room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter; "he drowned his sorrows in whiskey at the bar" [syn: {barroom}, {saloon}, {ginmill}, {taproom}] 2: a counter where you can obtain food or drink; "he bought a hot dog and a coke at the bar" 3: a rigid piece of metal or wood; usually used as a fastening or obstruction or weapon; "there were bars in the windows to prevent escape" 4: musical notation for a repeating pattern of musical beats; "the orchestra omitted the last twelve bars of the song" [syn: {measure}] 5: an obstruction (usually metal) placed at the top of a goal; "it was an excellent kick but the ball hit the bar" 6: the act of preventing; "there was no bar against leaving"; "money was allocated to study the cause and prevention of influenza" [syn: {prevention}] 7: (meteorology) a unit of pressure equal to a million dynes per square centimeter; "unfortunately some writers have used bar for one dyne per square centimeter" 8: a submerged (or partly submerged) ridge in a river or along a shore; "the boat ran aground on a submerged bar in the river" 9: the body of individuals qualified to practice law in a particular jurisdiction; "he was admitted to the bar in New Jersey" [syn: {legal profession}, {legal community}] 10: a block of solid substance (such as soap or wax); "a bar of chocolate" [syn: {cake}] 11: a portable .30 caliber magazine-fed automatic rifle operated by gas pressure; used by United States troops in World War I and in World War II and in the Korean War [syn: {Browning automatic rifle}] 12: a horizontal rod that serves as a support for gymnasts as they perform exercises 13: a heating element in an electric fire; "an electric fire with three bars" 14: (law) a railing that encloses the part of the courtroom where the judges and lawyers sit and the case is tried; "spectators were not allowed past the bar" v 1: prevent from entering; keep out; "He was barred from membership in the club" [syn: {debar}, {exclude}] 2: render unsuitable for passage; "block the way"; "barricade the streets"; "stop the busy road" [syn: {barricade}, {block}, {blockade}, {stop}, {block off}, {block up}] 3: expel, as if by official decree; "he was banished from his own country" [syn: {banish}, {relegate}] 4: secure with, or as if with, bars; "He barred the door" [ant: {unbar}] [also: {barring}, {barred}]

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