barrier
/ˈbæɹi.ə/noun, verb
barrier is spelled B-A-R-R-I-E-R: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,595th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, barrier means “A structure that bars passage” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of barrier is barriers.
How many letters and syllables are in barrier?
| Letters | 7: B-A-R-R-I-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 14 times per million words; the 5,595th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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 barrier?
Barrier appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,595th 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 barrier?
- UK /ˈbæɹi.ə/
- British /ˈbaɹɪjə/
- /ˈbæɹi.ɚ/
Barrier has 3 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-barrier.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with barrier?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as barrier from its last stressed vowel (/æɹiə/, British pronunciation):
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 barrier
- barriers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- barriering participle, present
- barriered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does barrier mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A structure that bars passage.
The bus went through a railway barrier and was hit by a train.
- 2
An obstacle or impediment.
Even a small fee can be a barrier for some students.
- 3
A boundary or limit.
Few marathon runners break the three-hour time barrier.
- 4
A node (in government and binding theory) said to intervene between other nodes A and B if it is a potential governor for B, c-commands B, and does not c-command A.
- 5
A separation between two areas of the body where specialized cells allow the entry of certain substances but prevent the entry of others.
- 6
The lists in a tournament.
- 7
A martial exercise of the 15th and 16th centuries.
verb
- 1
To block or obstruct with a barrier.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Barrier in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | barrière , limite, frontière |
| German | Sperre, Schranke, Schlagbaum, Barriere, Absperrung |
| Portuguese | barreira , limite , obstáculo |
| Spanish | barrera |
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 barrier come from?
From Middle English barrer, barrere, barryȝer, from Anglo-Norman barrere (compare French barrière), from barre (“bar”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).