barre
/bɑɹ/noun, verb
barre is spelled B-A-R-R-E: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, barre means “A handrail fixed to a wall used for ballet exercises” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of barre is barres.
How many letters and syllables are in barre?
| Letters | 5: B-A-R-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 26,092nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is barre?
Barre appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd 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).
How do you pronounce barre?
- UK /bɑː/
- US /bɑɹ/
- US [bɑɹ]
Barre 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: En-us-bar.ogg, En-uk-baa.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with barre
Sounds like: baa (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with barre?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as barre from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: rebar, arber, barer.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of barre
- barres plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- barring participle, present
- barred participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does barre mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A handrail fixed to a wall used for ballet exercises.
- 2
Ellipsis of barre chord.
verb
- 1
To form a barre chord on an instrument.
adjective
- 1
Alternative form of barry.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Barre in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a handrail fixed to a wall:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | barre |
| German | Ballettstange |
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 barre come from?
Borrowed from French barre. Doublet of bar.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).