barrier

/bæriə/

Thân thiện

A tall metal barrier blocks the entrance to the old park.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A physical structure that blocks or obstructs passage: A barrier is a fence, wall, or other object that prevents movement or access from one area to another.
   • A circumstance or obstacle that prevents progress or communication: A barrier can be a non-physical condition, such as a rule, attitude, or difference, that makes achievement or understanding difficult.

Examples

• Physical Structure:
  • The police set up a barrier to control the crowd.
  • A sound barrier was built along the highway to reduce noise for nearby residents.
• Non-Physical Obstacle:
  • Language differences can be a significant barrier to international trade.
  • Her shyness was a barrier to making new friends.

Advanced Usage

• "to be a barrier to (something)": to prevent or hinder something from happening.
  • High costs remain a barrier to entry for many new businesses.
• "to break down/remove barriers": to eliminate obstacles, especially social or communicative ones.
  • The new policy aims to break down barriers between departments.

Variants and Related Words

• Barricade (n/v): A more improvised or temporary barrier, often used for defense or to block a street.
  • Protesters erected a barricade.
• Barrier-free (adj): Designed to allow access for people with disabilities; without obstacles.
  • The building has been renovated to be barrier-free.

Synonyms

• Obstacle: Something that blocks one's way or hinders progress.
• Hindrance: A thing that provides resistance, delay, or obstruction to something or someone.
• Blockade: An act of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving.

Related Phrases

• Trade barrier: A government-imposed restriction on international trade (e.g., a tariff or quota).
  • The two countries agreed to reduce trade barriers.
• Language barrier: A difficulty in communication between people who speak different languages.
  • We used a translator to overcome the language barrier.
• Barrier reef: A long, narrow coral reef roughly parallel to the shore and separated from it by a lagoon.
  • The Great Barrier Reef is a World Heritage Site.

Idioms

• Crash the barrier: To break through a physical or metaphorical obstacle, often forcefully.
  • The new technology crashed the barrier of traditional manufacturing limits.

Học thuật

Noun

1. anything serving to maintain separation by obstructing vision or access
2. any condition that makes it difficult to make progress or to achieve an objective
   • intolerance is a barrier to understanding
3. a structure or object that impedes free movement

Từ đồng nghĩa

• roadblock