| / English Dictionary |
BARRIER
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A structure or object that impedes free movement
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("barrier" is a kind of...):
impediment; impedimenta; obstructer; obstruction; obstructor (any structure that makes progress difficult)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "barrier"):
starting gate; starting stall (a movable barrier on the starting line of a race course)
barricade; roadblock (a barrier set up by police to stop traffic on a street or road in order to catch a fugitive or inspect traffic etc.)
revetment (a barrier against explosives)
rail; railing (a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports)
movable barrier (a barrier that can be moved to allow passage)
hurdle (a light movable barrier that competitors must leap over in certain races)
grate; grating (a barrier that has parallel or crossed bars blocking a passage but admitting air)
fender; wing (a barrier that surrounds the wheels of a vehicle to block splashing water or mud)
fence; fencing (a barrier that serves to enclose an area)
dam; dike; dyke (a barrier constructed to contain the flow of water or to keep out the sea)
crash barrier (a strong protective barrier that is erected around a racetrack or in the middle of a dual-lane highway in order to reduce the likelihood of severe accidents)
bulwark (a fencelike structure around a deck (usually plural))
breakwater; bulwark; groin; groyne; jetty; mole; seawall (a protective structure of stone or concrete; extends from shore into the water to prevent a beach from washing away)
barricade (a barrier (usually thrown up hastily) to impede the advance of an enemy)
balusters; balustrade; banister; bannister; handrail (a railing at the side of a staircase or balcony to prevent people from falling)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Any condition that makes it difficult to make progress or to achieve an objective
Example:
intolerance is a barrier to understanding
Synonyms:
barrier; roadblock
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("barrier" is a kind of...):
obstacle; obstruction (something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "barrier"):
color barrier (the barrier preventing Blacks from participating in various activities with whites)
ideological barrier (a barrier to cooperation or interaction resulting from conflicting ideologies)
language barrier (barrier to communication resulting from speaking different languages)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Anything serving to maintain separation by obstructing vision or access
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("barrier" is a kind of...):
mechanism (a natural object resembling a machine in structure or function)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "barrier"):
bar (a submerged (or partly submerged) ridge in a river or along a shore)
blood-brain barrier (a mechanism that creates a barrier between brain tissues and circulating blood; serves to protect the central nervous system)
curtain (any barrier to communication or vision)
Context examples:
They are lipophilic and can cross the blood-brain barrier.
(Nitrosourea Compound, NCI Thesaurus)
The graphene film also provided a strong barrier that mosquitos could not bite through, although when wet it did not stop mosquitos from landing on skin.
(Graphene shield shows promise in blocking mosquito bites, National Institutes of Health)
Amino Acid Transporter proteins carry organic compounds containing an amino (-NH2) and a carboxyl (-COOH) group through solubility barriers, such as aqueous body fluids, lipid membranes or across epithelial layers.
(Amino Acid Transporter, NCI Thesaurus)
Crossing the blood brain barrier, aprepitant binds selectively to the human substance P/neurokinin 1 receptor in the central nervous system (CNS), thereby inhibiting receptor binding of endogenous substance P and substance P-induced emesis.
(Aprepitant, NCI Thesaurus)
An anticancer drug that is able to cross the blood-brain barrier and kill cancer cells in the central nervous system.
(AZQ, NCI Dictionary)
Upon ocular administration in irrigation solution, glutathione disulfide may exert a beneficial effect on the intracellular redox state of glutathione, thereby protecting the integrity and barrier function of the corneal endothelial cells.
(Oxiglutatione, NCI Thesaurus)
Treatment modality used to increase the delivery of chemotherapeutic agents and monoclonal antibodies to the central nervous system tissue through temporal disruption of the blood brain barrier.
(Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption Chemotherapy, NCI Thesaurus)
They also can lead to infections because they damage your skin's protective barrier.
(Burns, NIH: National Institute of General Medical Sciences)
In addition, JNJ-26483327 crosses the blood-brain barrier (BBB).
(Multitargeted Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor JNJ-26483327, NCI Thesaurus)
Secreted TFF acts on adjacent mucosal cell populations either extracellularly (augmenting barrier function) or intracellularly (transcriptional and signaling events).
(Mucosal Healing Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)
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