barney

¹ American

[bahr-nee] / ˈbɑr ni /

noun

plural

barneys

Informal.
1. an argument.
2. a prizefight.
3. a fight or brawl.
4. a blunder or mistake.
a small locomotive used in mining and logging.
Movie Slang. a heavily padded cover for a camera, used to reduce the camera noise so that it will not be picked up by the sound-recording equipment.

Barney ² American

[bahr-nee] / ˈbɑr ni /

noun

a first name, form of Bernard.

barney British

/ ˈbɑːnɪ /

noun

a noisy argument

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

to argue or quarrel

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of barney

First recorded in 1860–65; perhaps special uses of Barney

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He was a deputy director in the International Monetary Fund’s Policy Development and Review Department and the chief emerging-market economic strategist at Salomon Smith Barney.

From Barron's

“I’m cold. I want my Barney sweatshirt.”

From Literature

Smith Barney ultimately paid millions in settlements and compensation.

From The Wall Street Journal

Regulators found that Blodget, then of Merrill Lynch, and Grubman, of Salomon Smith Barney, issued research that didn’t reflect their honest views but rather flattered companies’ leadership.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023