rebar
/ˈɹiː.bɑː(ɹ)/noun, verb
rebar is a noun meaning “A steel reinforcing bar in a reinforced concrete structure” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled R-E-B-A-R and has 2 syllables, and it appears about once in every 3 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of rebar is rebars.
What does rebar mean?
noun
- 1
A steel reinforcing bar in a reinforced concrete structure.
- 2
A grid-shaped system of such bars.
verb
- 1
To reinforce with bars of this kind.
- 2
To bar again.
After allowing the stranger to enter, she rebarred the door.
- 3
To redistribute the notes of a musical score across the bars, e.g. when changing time signature.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce rebar?
- UK /ˈɹiː.bɑː(ɹ)/
As a verb (“To bar again”): /ɹiːˈbɑː(ɹ)/.
Rebar has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-rebar.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of rebar
- rebars plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- rebarring participle, present
- rebarred participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is rebar?
Rebar appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,775th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Rebar in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense steel reinforcing bar for concrete:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | fer à béton, barre d’armature |
| German | Bewehrungsstab, Betonstahl, Betonstabstahl |
| Portuguese | vergalhão, varão nervurado |
| Spanish | hierro varilla, hierro cabilla, fierro corrugado, fierro constructivo, cabilla |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does rebar come from?
Blend of reinforcing + bar.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).