barrage

\bɑ.ʁaʒ\

/\bɑ.ʁaʒ\/ noun

The verdict

“barrage” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #4,911 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#4,911
frequency rank, French
7
letters
8
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Barrière qui ferme un chemin.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

barrage vs barre
71% similar
barrage vs barrée
71% similar
barrage vs battage
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for barrage
PropertyValue
Headwordbarrage
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\bɑ.ʁaʒ\
Letters7
Frequency rank#4,911
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “barrage” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). barrage lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for barrage is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \bɑ.ʁaʒ\. Corpus data places it at rank #4,911 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for barrage, with forms such as "abrrage", "barage", and "bararge". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "barre", "barrée", "battage", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is barrage, spelled B-A-R-R-A-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Barrière qui ferme un chemin.
  2. 2
    Constructions qui opposent un obstacle à un cours d’eau et qui ont pour objet de retenir l’eau, d’en élever le niveau, d’empêcher les inondations, d’obtenir une force motrice ou comme réserve pour l'irrigation et la consommation humaine.
  3. 3
    Rochers qui barrent une rivière.
  4. 4
    Obstacle imprévu. Opposition déterminée, concertée, en vue d’empêcher quelque chose.
  5. 5
    Droit de péage sur les voitures et les bêtes de somme, pour l’entretien des routes ^([2]).
  6. 6
    Linge ouvré ^([2]).
  7. 7
    Dans certaines épreuves de sauts d’obstacles, parcours supplémentaire destiné à départager les ex æquos ayant fait un sans-faute.
  8. 8
    Pause de quelques secondes en plein milieu d'une conversation ou d'une action suivie d'une reprise comme si rien ne s’était passé. Lié à la schizophrénie.
  9. 9
    Barrière faite par les policiers qui ferme un chemin, pour interpeller le conducteur d'un véhicule ou à une scène de crime.
  10. 10
    Action qui consiste à barrer, rayer des mots, des symboles.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: abrrage,barage,bararge,barraeg,barragge,barrgae,bbarrage,brarage

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of barrage - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

abrrage2barage1bararge2barraeg2barragge1barrgae2bbarrage1brarage2
Edit distance from "barrage"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "barrage"?
"barrage" is spelled B-A-R-R-A-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is \bɑ.ʁaʒ\.
What does "barrage" mean?
As a noun, "barrage" means: Barrière qui ferme un chemin.
What words are commonly confused with "barrage"?
"barrage" is commonly confused with "barre", "barrée", "battage". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "barrage"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "barrage" is \bɑ.ʁaʒ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "barrage" come from?
"barrage" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “barrage”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is B-A-R-R-A-G-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \bɑ.ʁaʒ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “barre” - see the side-by-side comparison. barrage vs barre
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list