Barnstorm
//ˈbɑːnstɔːm// noun, verb
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A series of appearances in small country towns, as by a politician or a travelling theatre group.
Verb
- 1 To travel around the countryside making political speeches etc.
"A pair of red boxing gloves dangles in the cabin of John N. Turner's plane as he barnstorms across Canada campaigning for the general election Nov. 21."
- 2 tour the country making political speeches, giving lectures, or presenting plays wordnet
- 3 To appear at fairs and carnivals in exhibitions of stunt flying, sporting events, or theater. US
- 4 appear at county fairs and carnivals as a stunt flier and parachute jumper wordnet
- 5 To travel from town to town performing in front of small crowds. US
"He also noted that “we’re in the business of promoting the game” in the United States, which is a task surely helped by the national team’s barnstorming persona."
Example
More examples"A pair of red boxing gloves dangles in the cabin of John N. Turner's plane as he barnstorms across Canada campaigning for the general election Nov. 21."
Etymology
From barn + storm (due to performances commonly delivered in barns).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.