: a cereal grass (genus Hordeum and especially H. vulgare) having the flowers in dense spikes with long awns and three spikelets at each joint of the rachis
also
: its seed used especially in malt beverages, breakfast foods, and stock feeds
Examples of barley in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Swap out rice for barley in recipes like jambalaya and risotto.
—
Kathi Valeii Published, Verywell Health, 11 Mar. 2025
Pale chocolate malt, roasted barley, flaked oat, milk sugar, and Fuggle hops all come together to create this ultra-smooth, just slightly sweet triumph of a beer.
—Erik Ofgang, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
But unseen, in underground pipelines that cut through vast fields of barley, flows about $5 billion annually worth of Canadian crude oil and natural gas, most of it from Alberta.
—Sally Ho, Chicago Tribune, 2 Mar. 2025
That meant building massive sets on four backlots, constructing magical trains and planting fields of barley and tulips.
—Beatrice Verhoeven, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barley
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Kathi Valeii Published, Verywell Health, 11 Mar. 2025
Pale chocolate malt, roasted barley, flaked oat, milk sugar, and Fuggle hops all come together to create this ultra-smooth, just slightly sweet triumph of a beer.
—Erik Ofgang, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
But unseen, in underground pipelines that cut through vast fields of barley, flows about $5 billion annually worth of Canadian crude oil and natural gas, most of it from Alberta.
—Sally Ho, Chicago Tribune, 2 Mar. 2025
That meant building massive sets on four backlots, constructing magical trains and planting fields of barley and tulips.
—Beatrice Verhoeven, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barley
Articles Related to barley
Cite this Entry
“Barley.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barley. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
barley
noun
bar·ley
ˈbär-lē 
: a cereal grass with flowers in dense spikes
also
: its seed used especially in malt beverages, in foods (as soups and cereals), or as feed for livestock
Medical Definition
barley
noun
bar·ley
ˈbär-lē
: a cereal grass (genus Hordeum, especially H. vulgare) having the flowers in dense spikes with long awns
also
: its seed used in malt beverages and in breakfast foods and stock feeds
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