# barrack

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbæɹ.ək/ · frequency rank #37,334

## Definitions
1. A building for soldiers, especially within a garrison; originally referred to temporary huts, now usually to a permanent structure or set of buildings.
2. A primitive structure resembling a long shed or barn for (usually temporary) housing or other purposes.
3. Any very plain, monotonous, or ugly large building.
4. A (structure with a) movable roof sliding on four posts, to cover hay, straw, etc.
5. A police station.

## Etymology
Borrowed from French baraque, from Spanish barraca or Catalan barraca, which is of uncertain origin. It is probably either a diminutive of Vulgar Latin *barra (“bar”), of unclear origin, or a diminutive of Vulgar Latin *barrum (“clay, mud”) from Celtiberian or Paleo-Hispanic.

## Easily confused with
- **barrage** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/barrack-vs-barrage)
- **barracks** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/barrack-vs-barracks)
- **barra** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/barra-vs-barrack)
- **Barak** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/barak-vs-barrack)
- **barack** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/barack-vs-barrack)
- **bareback** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bareback-vs-barrack)

## Common misspellings (8)
`abrrack`, `bararck`, `barracck`, `barrackk`, `barrakc`, `barrcak`, `bbarrack`, `brarack`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/barrack