| English > English |
|
| barbed wire |
| 1. n. Twisted strands of steel wire, often coated with zinc, having barbs evenly spaced along them; used to construct agricultural and military fences. |
|
| Analysis |
|
| barbed |
| 1. adj. Having barbs |
|
| 2. adj. (heraldry) Bearded (also applied to roses, referring to the leaves between the petals). |
|
| 3. adj. (of a horse) Accoutered with defensive armor; barded. |
|
| 4. v. simple past tense and past participle of barb |
|
| barb |
| 1. n. The point that stands backward in an arrow, fishhook, etc., to prevent it from being easily extracted. Hence: Anything which stands out with a sharp point obliquely or crosswise to something else. |
|
| 2. n. (figuratively) A hurtful or disparaging remark. |
|
| 3. n. A beard, or that which resembles it, or grows in the place of it. |
|
| 4. n. Armor for a horse, corrupted from bard. |
|
| 5. n. (ornithology) One of the side branches of a feather, which collectively constitute the vane. |
|
| wire |
| 1. n. Metal formed into a thin, even thread, now usually by being drawn through a hole in a steel die. |
|
| 2. n. A piece of such material; a thread or slender rod of metal, a cable. |
|
| 3. n. A metal conductor that carries electricity. |
|
| 4. n. A fence made of usually barbed wire. |
|
| 5. n. (sports) A finish line of a racetrack. |
|
