barb

Plural: barbs

Noun

an aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect
the pointed part of barbed wire
a subsidiary point facing opposite from the main point that makes an arrowhead or spear hard to remove
one of the parallel filaments projecting from the main shaft of a feather
The point that stands backward in an arrow, fishhook, etc., to prevent it from being easily extracted. Hence: Anything which stands out with a sharp point obliquely or crosswise to something else.
A hurtful or disparaging remark.
A beard, or that which resembles it, or grows in the place of it.
One of the many side branches of a feather, which collectively constitute the vane.
Any of various species of freshwater carp-like fish that have barbels and belong to the cyprinid family.
The sciaenid fish Menticirrhus americanus, found along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States.
A hair or bristle ending in a double hook.
A muffler, worn by nuns and mourners.
Paps, or little projections, of the mucous membrane, which mark the opening of the submaxillary glands under the tongue in horses and cattle. The name is mostly applied when the barbs are inflamed and swollen.
A bit for a horse.
A plastic fastener, shaped roughly like a capital I (with serifs), used to attach socks etc. to their packaging.
The Barbary horse, a superior breed introduced from Barbary into Spain by the Moors.
A blackish or dun variety of pigeon, originally brought from Barbary.
A barbiturate.
Armor for a horse.

Verb

Verb Forms: barbed, barbing, barbs

To provide with sharp, backward-pointing projections.
provide with barbs
- "barbed wire"
To furnish with barbs, or with that which will hold or hurt like barbs, as an arrow, fishhook, spear, etc.
To cut (hair).
To shave or dress the beard of.
To clip; to mow.
To cover a horse in armor.

Examples

I’ll barb this J with an -S to hook it onto another word.
to trade barbs

Origin / Etymology

PIE word
*bʰardʰéh₂
From Middle English barbe, from Middle French barbe, from Old French barbe (“beard, beard-like element”). Doublet of beard.

Synonyms

dig, gibe, jibe, shaft, shot, slam, Carolina whiting, barbel, barble, king whiting, southern kingcroaker, southern kingfish

Scrabble Score: 8

barb: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
barb: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
barb: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 10

barb: valid Words With Friends Word