| • | A piece of wood, metal, or other material, long in proportion to its breadth or thickness, used as a lever and for various other purposes, but especially for a hindrance, obstruction, or fastening; as, the bars of a fence or gate; the bar of a door. |
| • | An indefinite quantity of some substance, so shaped as to be long in proportion to its breadth and thickness; as, a bar of gold or of lead; a bar of soap. |
| • | Anything which obstructs, hinders, or prevents; an obstruction; a barrier. |
| • | A bank of sand, gravel, or other matter, esp. at the mouth of a river or harbor, obstructing navigation. |
| • | Any railing that divides a room, or office, or hall of assembly, in order to reserve a space for those having special privileges; as, the bar of the House of Commons. |
| • | The railing that incloses the place which counsel occupy in courts of justice. Hence, the phrase at the bar of the court signifies in open court. |
| • | The place in court where prisoners are stationed for arraignment, trial, or sentence. |
| • | The whole body of lawyers licensed in a court or district; the legal profession. |
| • | A special plea constituting a sufficient answer to plaintiff's action. |
| • | Any tribunal; as, the bar of public opinion; the bar of God. |
| • | A barrier or counter, over which liquors and food are passed to customers; hence, the portion of the room behind the counter where liquors for sale are kept. |
| • | An ordinary, like a fess but narrower, occupying only one fifth part of the field. |
| • | A broad shaft, or band, or stripe; as, a bar of light; a bar of color. |
| • | A vertical line across the staff. Bars divide the staff into spaces which represent measures, and are themselves called measures. |
| • | The space between the tusks and grinders in the upper jaw of a horse, in which the bit is placed. |
| • | The part of the crust of a horse's hoof which is bent inwards towards the frog at the heel on each side, and extends into the center of the sole. |
| • | A drilling or tamping rod. |
| • | A vein or dike crossing a lode. |
| • | A gatehouse of a castle or fortified town. |
| • | A slender strip of wood which divides and supports the glass of a window; a sash bar. |
| • | To fasten with a bar; as, to bar a door or gate. |
| • | To restrict or confine, as if by a bar; to hinder; to obstruct; to prevent; to prohibit; as, to bar the entrance of evil; distance bars our intercourse; the statute bars my right; the right is barred by time; a release bars the plaintiff's recovery; -- sometimes with up. |
| • | To except; to exclude by exception. |
| • | To cross with one or more stripes or lines. |
