Barrel /(băr"rĕl)/

Bar·rel

Barrel

n.
  1. A round vessel or cask, of greater length than breadth, and bulging in the middle, made of staves bound with hoops, and having flat ends or heads; as, a cracker barrel. Sometimes applied to a similar cylindrical container made of metal, usually called a drum.
  2. The quantity which constitutes a full barrel. This varies for different articles and also in different places for the same article, being regulated by custom or by law. A barrel of wine is 31<frac:1_2/ gallons; a barrel of flour is 196 pounds.
  3. A solid drum, or a hollow cylinder or case; as, the barrel of a windlass; the barrel of a watch, within which the spring is coiled.
  4. A metallic tube, as of a gun, from which a projectile is discharged.
  5. A jar. [Obs.]
  6. The hollow basal part of a feather. (Zool.)

Phrases & Compounds
Barrel bulk
a measure equal to five cubic feet, used in estimating capacity, as of a vessel for freight.
Barrel drain
a drain in the form of a cylindrical tube.
Barrel of a boiler
the cylindrical part of a boiler, containing the flues.
Barrel of the ear
the tympanum, or tympanic cavity.
Barrel organ
an instrument for producing music by the action of a revolving cylinder.
Barrel vault
See under Vault.

Barrel

v. t.

imp. & p. p. Barreled; p. pr. & vb. n. Barreling

  1. To put or to pack in a barrel or barrels.