Definition

Noun: * Barbed wire: A type of strong wire with sharp metal points (barbs) placed at regular intervals, used primarily for making fences, especially for security, to mark boundaries, or to enclose areas like military zones or prisons.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Người nông dân dựng hàng rào bằng dây kẽm gai để bảo vệ trang trại. (The farmer erected a fence using barbed wire to protect the farm.)
  • Khu vực quân sự được bao quanh bởi nhiều lớp dây kẽm gai. (The military area is surrounded by multiple layers of barbed wire.)
  • Anh ấy bị thương ở tay do vướng vào dây kẽm gai. (He injured his hand by getting caught on barbed wire.)

Advanced Usage

• "cuộn dây kẽm gai": a coil/roll of barbed wire.
  • Họ mua một cuộn dây kẽm gai mới. (They bought a new roll of barbed wire.)
• "hàng rào dây kẽm gai" / "rào dây kẽm gai": a barbed wire fence.
  • Tù nhân vượt qua được hàng rào dây kẽm gai. (The prisoner managed to get over the barbed wire fence.)

Variants and Related Words

• Dây thép gai (noun): This is the more formal or standard term with the same meaning as "dây kẽm gai". "Kẽm" refers to zinc (often used for galvanization), while "thép" means steel. Both terms are commonly used interchangeably for "barbed wire".
  • Hàng rào dây thép gai rất sắc và nguy hiểm. (Barbed wire fences are very sharp and dangerous.)

Synonyms

• Dây rào gai (noun): A less common synonym, also meaning barbed wire.
• Kẽm gai (noun): A shortened, colloquial form of "dây kẽm gai".

Related Phrases

• "bẫy dây kẽm gai": a barbed wire trap.
  • Binh lính cẩn thận để không dẫm phải bẫy dây kẽm gai. (The soldiers were careful not to step on a barbed wire trap.)

Related Idioms

• "gai góc như dây kẽm gai": (to be) as prickly/thorny as barbed wire. Used metaphorically to describe a person with a difficult, sharp, or unapproachable personality.
  • Tính anh ấy gai góc như dây kẽm gai, khó mà nói chuyện. (His personality is as prickly as barbed wire, making it hard to talk to him.)

noun

1. barbed wire
   • hàng rào dây kẽm gai
     barbed wire fence