Words / B2

BAR-uh-l/ˈbærəl/

A barrel is a round wooden or metal container with curved sides; also a unit of oil volume, or the tube of a gun: a barrel of oil; gun barrel. Cask, keg, and drum are close twins for the container. Quote oil in barrels only if the source uses that unit, then convert. Mix-up: barrel vs barren; burial (a backup headword). Do not write barrel for a litre bottle unless the source uses that unit.

Meaning

A round wooden or metal container with curved sides; also a unit of oil volume; the barrel of a gun is the tube.

Examples

• “Quote oil in barrels only if the source uses that unit, then convert.”
• “A gun barrel featured in the forensics extract, which is the tube sense.”

Good to know

a barrel of; oil barrel; gun barrel; barrel-chested. Close: cask / keg / drum. Trap: barren. Geography, science, and history. A cask, an oil unit, or a gun tube — specify.

Near in meaning

cask, keg, drum

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