barrier

[bar-ee-er] /ˈbær i ər/
noun
1.
anything built or serving to bar passage, as a railing, fence, or the like:
People may pass through the barrier only when their train is announced.
2.
any natural bar or obstacle:
a mountain barrier.
3.
anything that restrains or obstructs progress, access, etc.:
a trade barrier.
4.
a limit or boundary of any kind:
the barriers of caste.
5.
Physical Geography. an antarctic ice shelf or ice front.
6.
barrier beach.
7.
barriers, History/Historical. the palisade or railing surrounding the ground where tourneys and jousts were carried on.
8.
Archaic. a fortress or stockade.
Origin
1275-1325; Middle English < Middle French barriere (barre bar1 + -iere < Latin -āria -ary); replacing Middle English barrere < Anglo-French < Medieval Latin barrera
Synonyms
1. palisade, wall. 1–3. obstruction, hindrance, impediment. See bar1 .
Examples from the web for barrier
  • The boundary of the sphere, the wall of fire, is not an actual physical barrier.
  • Remedial math has become an insurmountable barrier for many students, ending their aspirations for higher education.
  • Regulations covering the financial services industry are designed to act as a barrier to rogues and villains.
  • The soy sauce here appears to be poured directly on the skin, and the skin should be acting as a barrier.
  • There's an education barrier too, to how these decisions are made.
  • After all, it is a barrier between house and street.
  • Micro wires represent a means of erecting an impenetrable barrier to deny access to an area or building.
  • But in developing countries, the logistics of immunizing millions of children pre-sent a significant barrier.
  • Substances that cannot cross this barrier are unlikely to make effective treatments for a brain disease.
  • barrier methods prevent pests from getting to plants.
British Dictionary definitions for barrier

barrier

/ˈbærɪə/
noun
1.
anything serving to obstruct passage or to maintain separation, such as a fence or gate
2.
anything that prevents or obstructs passage, access, or progress: a barrier of distrust
3.
anything that separates or hinders union: a language barrier
4.
  1. an exposed offshore sand bar separated from the shore by a lagoon
  2. (as modifier): a barrier beach
5.
(sometimes capital) that part of the Antarctic icecap extending over the sea
Word Origin
C14: from Old French barriere, from barrebar1
Word Origin and History for barrier
n.

early 14c., barere, from Anglo-French barrere, Old French barriere "obstacle, gatekeeper," from barre "bar" (see bar (n.1)). First record of barrier reef is from 1805.

barrier in Medicine

barrier bar·ri·er (bār'ē-ər)
n.

  1. A structure, such as a fence, built to bar passage.

  2. A boundary or limit.

  3. An obstacle or impediment.

  4. Something that separates or holds apart.

  5. Something immaterial that obstructs or impedes behavior.

  6. A physical or biological factor that limits the migration, interbreeding, or free movement of individuals or populations.