Meaning & use
barbell
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Meanings
nouncountablesport
A long metal bar with weight plates at each end, lifted with both hands for strength training and weightlifting.
Grammar: Has a plural: the gym has several barbells.
Patterns
- lift a barbell
- a barbell with something on it
He loaded two heavy plates onto the barbell and stood up straight.
She does squats with a barbell across her shoulders.
The gym keeps its barbells on a rack near the mirrors.
nouncountableinformal
A piece of jewelry with a short bar and a ball at each end, worn in a body piercing such as the tongue or eyebrow.
Grammar: Used in the jewelry and piercing context: a barbell in her eyebrow.
Patterns
- a barbell piercing
She wore a small silver barbell in her eyebrow.
The piercer replaced the barbell with a shorter one once the swelling went down.
A tongue barbell can chip a tooth if you bite down on it.
Word forms
| plural | barbells |
|---|
Common combinations
- lift a barbell
- He can lift a barbell twice his body weight.
- load the barbell
- Load the barbell with plates before you start.
- barbell squat
- The barbell squat works the legs and back.
- barbell row
- She does a barbell row to build her back muscles.
- a heavy barbell
- Never lift a heavy barbell without a spotter.
Synonyms and how they differ
- weight bar
- This is a plain description of the bar itself, whereas barbell usually means the bar with plates attached.
- Olympic bar
- This is a specific, standard-size bar used in competitions, while barbell is the general word for any such weight.
- free weight
- This is a broad class including barbells and dumbbells, so it is less specific than barbell.
Word family
Commonly confused: barbell or dumbbell? barbell or kettlebell?
barbell vs dumbbell
A dumbbell is a short weight held in one hand, whereas a barbell is a long bar gripped with both hands.
barbell vs kettlebell
A kettlebell is a round weight with a handle, not a long bar with plates.
Practice
To do a back squat, rest the ___ across your shoulders and bend your knees.
Choose one answer.
A barbell is the long bar that rests across the shoulders for squats. Dumbbells and kettlebells are held in the hands, and a medicine ball is thrown or held, so none rests across the shoulders.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “barbell”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.