barbed wire

noun

1. a wire or strand of wires having small pieces of sharply pointed wire twisted around it at short intervals, used chiefly for fencing in livestock, keeping out trespassers, etc.

barbed wire

noun

1. strong wire with sharply pointed barbs at close intervals Also called (US)barbwire

Word History and Origins

Origin of barbed wire¹

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

On the ground, amid the sagebrush and tumbleweeds, are a few old barracks, a weathered wooden fence strung with barbed wire and a wind-battered guard tower.

From Los Angeles Times

First Lady Pat Nixon presided over the park’s dedication in 1971, crossing a barbed wire fence that separated the two countries to greet cheering Mexicans on the other side.

From Los Angeles Times

Instead, inmates run past prison huts, barbed wire and high fences.

From BBC

On her third try, in July 1980, Dora crossed over barbed wire into the Sonoran Desert on the United States side of the border with 25 other migrants when tragedy struck.

From Salon

Topped by barbed wire and surveillance cameras in some places, it cuts through rice fields and carves up once-adjoined streets.

From BBC

Related Words

• fence
• fencing