barrage
Americannoun
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Military. a heavy barrier of artillery fire to protect one's own advancing or retreating troops or to stop the advance of enemy troops.
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an overwhelming quantity or explosion, as of words, blows, or criticisms.
a barrage of questions.
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Civil Engineering. an artificial obstruction in a watercourse to increase the depth of the water, facilitate irrigation, etc.
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Mycology. an aversion response of sexually incompatible fungus cultures that are growing in proximity, revealed by a persistent growth gap between them.
verb (used with object)
noun
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military the firing of artillery to saturate an area, either to protect against an attack or to support an advance
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an overwhelming and continuous delivery of something, as words, questions, or punches
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a usually gated construction, similar to a low dam, across a watercourse, esp one to increase the depth of water to assist navigation or irrigation
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fencing a heat or series of bouts in a competition
verb
Etymology
Origin of barrage
1855–60; < French: blocking, barring off, barrier, equivalent to barr ( er ) to bar 1 + -age -age; artillery sense by ellipsis from French tir de barrage barrier fire
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.
In the commercial hub of Tel Aviv, Orit Baisa, 42, rushed to an underground car park as soon as he heard the air raid sirens warning of an incoming missile barrage.
From Barron's
In Israel, sirens were heard across the country after the Israeli military said it had detected an incoming Iranian missile barrage.
From BBC
That aside, the film’s barrage of scenes, sketches, shout-outs and absurdist scenarios leading up to the climactic wine-making championship are largely harmless flights of farce.
From Los Angeles Times
—Europe’s blue-chip indexes were mixed at market open as markets digest a barrage of earnings reports.
Following a round of particularly intense Russian barrages two years earlier, Biletsky had convinced his neighbours to chip in together to install solar panels and batteries on the roof of their high-rise apartment block.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
