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Meanings of barb in English

Wikidata

Non-monophyletic group of cyprinid fishes.

        Catalan
        befa
        Spanish
        burla

        An aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect.

            befa
            Usage of barb in English
            1
            The jocular tone made it clear the words were not a barb.
            Crown of Slaves
            2
            There was balm in the barb for all the wound it made.
            The Yoke / A Romance of the Days when the Lord Redeemed the Chil...
            3
            He has an instinct for spotting weakness and finding the right barb.
            The Irish Times
            4
            Clearly she'd missed the barb directed at her role in his distrust.
            To catch a thief
            5
            The small blunt, barb-headed arrows we often paint red their entire length.
            Hunting with the Bow & Arrow
            6
            The road he had built was fenced across by triple barb-wire fences.
            The Cruise of the Snark
            7
            The jab from the 10-inch barb of a stingray seldom proves fatal.
            The Irish Times
            8
            People may attempt to do it, but their shafts have no barb.
            Gala-Days
            9
            Sticking out from these knots were many barb-like pins, about finger length.
            Scorched Earth: A Future History of Planet Earth
            10
            But mother, engrossed, didn't observe; more deeply she sank her unintentional barb.
            Missy
            11
            Will ye give me as much blood as will cover this barb?
            Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
            12
            Her face expresses polite interest, but there's a barb in her tone.
            End of Watch
            13
            How you barb with keen regret the mortifying reflection that I, alas!
            Infelice
            14
            Rapp ignored the barb and slowly leaned over to unzip the bag.
            Consent to kill: a thriller
            15
            The barb struck home, just as his twin had obviously intended.
            Daniel's desire
            16
            He wiped the barb carefully and replaced it in his quiver.
            The Hunters of the Hills
            About this term
            More collocations
            Translations for barb
            Spanish
            burla
            Barb through the time
            Barb across language varieties
            United Kingdom
            Common
            United States of America
            Common