barb

¹ American  

[bahrb] / bɑrb /

noun

1. a point or pointed part projecting backward from a main point, as of a fishhook or arrowhead.

   Synonyms:

   spicule, prickle, snag, barbule, prong, spike, spur

2. an obviously or openly unpleasant or cutting remark.

3. Botany, Zoology. a hooked or sharp bristle.

4. Ornithology. one of the processes attached to the rachis of a feather.

5. one of a breed of domestic pigeons, similar to the carriers or homers, having a short, broad bill.

6. any of numerous, small, Old World cyprinid fishes of the genera Barbus and Puntius, often kept in aquariums.

7. Veterinary Pathology. Usually barbs. a small protuberance under the tongue in horses and cattle, especially when inflamed and swollen.

8. Also a linen covering for the throat and breast, formerly worn by women mourners and now only by some nuns.

9. Obsolete. a beard.

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verb (used with object)

1. to furnish with a barb or barbs.

barb ² American  

[bahrb] / bɑrb /

noun

1. one of a breed of horses raised originally in Barbary.

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barb ³ American  

[bahrb] / bɑrb /

noun

Slang.

1. barbiturate.

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barb ¹ British  

/ bɑːb /

noun

1. a subsidiary point facing in the opposite direction to the main point of a fish-hook, harpoon, arrow, etc, intended to make extraction difficult

2. any of various pointed parts, as on barbed wire

3. a cutting remark; gibe

4. any of the numerous hairlike filaments that form the vane of a feather

5. a beardlike growth in certain animals

6. a hooked hair or projection on certain fruits

7. any small cyprinid fish of the genus Barbus (or Puntius ) and related genera, such as B. conchonius ( rosy barb )

8. (usually plural) any of the small fleshy protuberances beneath the tongue in horses and cattle

9. a white linen cloth forming part of a headdress extending from the chin to the upper chest, originally worn by women in the Middle Ages, now worn by nuns of some orders

10. obsolete a beard

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verb

1. (tr) to provide with a barb or barbs

barb ² British  

/ bɑːb /

noun

1. a breed of horse of North African origin, similar to the Arab but less spirited

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barb ³ British  

/ bɑːb /

noun

1. a black kelpie See kelpie 1

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BARB ⁴ British  

/ bɑːb /

acronym

1. Broadcasters' Audience Research Board

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barb Scientific  

/ bärb /

1. A sharp point projecting backward, as on the stinger of a bee.

2. One of the hairlike branches on the shaft of a feather.

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Other Word Forms

• barbed adjective

Etymology

Origin of barb¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English barbe “beard, pleated cloth, barb (of an arrow),” from Middle French, Old French barbe, from Latin barba beard

Origin of barb²

First recorded in 1600–10; from French barbe, shortened form of Italian barbero “Barbary steed,” equivalent to Barber(ia) “Barbary” + -o masculine noun suffix

Origin of barb³

First recorded in 1955–60; by shortening

Example Sentences

One barb often circulated online skewers Katz with the ultimate diss for clueless interlopers: “Rob Katz skis in jeans.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025

Reba’s dig at Stracke’s son was the sort of casual, unthinking barb that plenty of Southern mothers have perfected, tossed into a group conversation as nonchalantly as a request for sweet tea.

From Salon • Mar. 5, 2025

"If you step on one of them and they catch you with the barb, that's pretty much evacuation," he said.

From BBC • Oct. 11, 2024

Perry was a sarcasm ninja, honoring both the barb and the inevitable insecurity that launched it.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 29, 2023

Then she could see the smaller structures—dust and barb and cell.

From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill

Related Words

• criticism
• gibe
• insult
• sarcasm