barrage
See also: bârrage
English
Etymology
Borrowed from French barrage (“barrage, barrier”). Compare barrier.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈbæɹɑːʒ/
- (US) IPA(key): /bəˈɹɑːʒ/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: (US) -ɑːʒ
Noun
barrage (plural barrages)
- An artificial obstruction, such as a dam, in a river designed to increase its depth or to divert its flow.
- Hyponym: dam
- (military) A heavy curtain of artillery fire directed in front of one's own troops to screen and protect them.
- 2014, Edward G. Lengel, A Companion to the Meuse-Argonne Campaign, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 350:
- The 75s of V Corps fired a standard rolling barrage, while the larger 155 mm and 8-inch pieces fired standing barrages 500 meters beyond the barrage line. For the rolling barrage, one battery in each battalion fired low, bursting shrapnel instead of the standard high explosive.
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- A concentrated discharge of projectile weapons.
- 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 1, in Internal Combustion:
- Blast after blast, fiery outbreak after fiery outbreak, like a flaming barrage from within, […] most of Edison's grounds soon became an inferno. As though on an incendiary rampage, the fires systematically devoured the contents of Edison's headquarters and facilities.
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- (by extension) An overwhelming outburst of words, especially of criticism.
- 2016 February 20, “Obituary: Antonin Scalia: Always right”, in The Economist:
- Lesser lawyers who were vague in oral argument faced a barrage of sarcasm or, if he agreed with them, constant chiding to do better.
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- (fencing) A "next hit wins" contest to determine the winner of a bout in case of a tie.
- Type of firework containing a mixture of firework types in one single-ignition package.
Derived terms
- barrage balloon
- barrage jamming
- rolling barrage
- tidal barrage
Translations
artificial obstruction, such as a dam, in a river
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heavy curtain of artillery fire
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concentrated discharge of projectile weapons
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overwhelming outburst of words
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"next hit wins" fight-off
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type of firework
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Verb
barrage (third-person singular simple present barrages, present participle barraging, simple past and past participle barraged)
- (transitive) To direct a barrage at.
- 2020, Brit Bennett, The Vanishing Half, Dialogue Books, page 259:
- Maybe now her daughter would stop barraging her with questions about her past.
- Synonym: bombard
-
Further reading
- barrage (dam) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- barrage (artillery) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
French
Etymology
barrer + -age
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ba.ʁaʒ/, /bɑ.ʁaʒ/
audio (file)
Noun
barrage m (plural barrages)
- dam, barrage
- barrier, roadblock
- (sports) playoff
Derived terms
- faire barrage à
- tir de barrage
Descendants
- → Portuguese: barragem
- → Turkish: baraj
Further reading
- “barrage”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
- “barrage” in Cordial.
- “barrage” in Dictionnaire Français en ligne Larousse.
- “barrage” in Le Dictionnaire.
Anagrams
- bagarre, bagarré