Barbell

//ˈbɑɹˌbɛl// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A wide steel bar with premeasured weights counterpoised at either end, with the central span open for the hands of the weightlifter.

    "The in-house gym included “squat racks” for weight lifting, with iron barbells branded with “Thinking Machines” in bold white typeface."

  2. 2
    a bar to which heavy discs are attached at each end; used in weightlifting wordnet
  3. 3
    A piece of jewellery composed of a straight bar with a bead on each end, used as a piercing.

Synonyms

All synonyms
dumbbellhorsetrampolineweightweight bar

Example

More examples

"Even though she is a woman, she can lift this barbell."

Etymology

Blend of bar + dumbbell. The piercing is named after the exercise equipment, because of the visual resemblance.

Related phrases

barbell bar padbarbell cushionbarbell padbarbell rack

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.