Bollard
//ˈbɒləɹd// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A strong vertical post of timber or iron, fixed to the ground and/or on the deck of a ship, to which the ship's mooring lines etc are secured.
"Today he had for bollard the unfinished monument half-erected to some all but forgotten anarchist."
- 2 a strong post (as on a wharf or quay or ship for attaching mooring lines) wordnet
- 3 A similar post preventing vehicle access to a pedestrian area, to delineate traffic lanes, or used for security purposes.
Example
More examples"Today he had for bollard the unfinished monument half-erected to some all but forgotten anarchist."
Etymology
From Middle English bollard, probably from Middle English bole (“tree trunk”), from Old Norse bolr (“stump, trunk”), equivalent to bole + -ard (pejorative or diminutive suffix).
Related phrases
More for "bollard"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.