barb

noun

ˈbärb How to pronounce barb (audio)
Definition of barbnext
as in insult
an act or expression showing scorn and usually intended to hurt another's feelings delivered one last barb to his ex-girlfriend as he stalked away

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of barb Bill Essayli traded barbs at dueling healthcare fraud news conferences in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday morning, sniping at each other over billions lost to benefits schemes and the increasingly politicized efforts to stop them. — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026 While Vision patches himself up from the Paladin fight and suffers through Ultron’s barbs, Paladin patches his own wounds and takes similar guff from his handler. — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026 Brazil’s presidential candidates traded barbs in the first debate ahead of Sunday’s runoff, with polls showing a technical tie. — semafor.com, 19 Oct. 2026 The debate, which drew around 200 people to Grace Place in Berthoud, was largely made up of attacks — with Rutinel, a Democrat, and Evans, a Republican, trading barbs and accusations during the hourlong affair. — John Aguilar, Denver Post, 7 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for barb
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barb
  1. insult
  2. sarcasm
Noun
  • Try to remember that your teen’s eyes were focused squarely on the $100 prize and so this is an issue of overlooking rather than one of insult.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Yet in a land where machismo still reigns, it’s considered a rather severe insult.
    — Jeanne Bonner, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of insult
Noun
  • There’s a hint of sarcasm in that statement, but also a dose of reality.
    — Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Returning the sarcasm tends to cause the same problem, with two people annoyed instead of one.
    — Angela Haupt, Time, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of sarcasm

Browse Nearby Words

bar
barb
barbarian
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Barb.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barb. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on barb

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about barb

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All