Meaning & use
barrow
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Meanings
nouncountable
An open cart pushed by hand, usually with one wheel at the front, used to carry soil, bricks or garden waste.
Grammar: Often wheelbarrow in everyday speech.
Patterns
- a barrow of something
He filled the barrow with compost and wheeled it to the vegetable bed.
A barrow of bricks stood by the half-built wall.
The gardener left the barrow tipped against the shed.
nouncountableBritish
A stall on wheels from which a trader sells fruit, flowers or other goods in the street.
Grammar: Often used in British English: a fruit barrow.
Patterns
- a barrow selling something
She bought apples from a barrow outside the station.
A flower barrow brightened the corner of the market.
The trader pushed his barrow along the high street.
nouncountablespecialist
A large mound of earth built over a grave in ancient times.
Grammar: Used in archaeology for prehistoric burial mounds.
Patterns
- a barrow on something
Archaeologists excavated a Bronze Age barrow on the hill.
The long barrow held the remains of several people.
Sheep graze around the ancient barrow.
Word forms
| plural | barrows |
|---|
Common combinations
- push a barrow
- She pushed the barrow across the muddy yard.
- barrow of earth
- A barrow of earth was tipped into the hole.
- burial barrow
- The burial barrow dates from around 2000 BC.
- market barrow
- A market barrow stacked with oranges stood by the gate.
- barrow boy
- He started out as a barrow boy selling vegetables.
Synonyms and how they differ
- wheelbarrow
- Wheelbarrow is the common full name for the garden tool, and is clearer than barrow.
- handcart
- A handcart usually has two wheels and carries larger loads.
- mound
- Mound is a general word for any heap of earth, whereas barrow means one built over a grave.
- tumulus
- Tumulus is a more technical archaeological term for the same type of burial mound.
Word family
- wheelbarrow noun
- the common name for the one-wheeled garden cart
- barrowful noun
- as much as a barrow can hold
- barrow boy noun
- a young street trader who sells from a barrow
Commonly confused: barrow or burrow? barrow or borrow?
barrow vs burrow
A burrow is a hole dug by an animal, while a barrow is a cart or an ancient grave mound.
barrow vs borrow
Borrow is a verb meaning to take something temporarily, and is unrelated to barrow.
Practice
Archaeologists spent the summer digging into a Bronze Age ___ on the hillside.
Choose one answer.
A barrow is an ancient burial mound. A burrow is an animal hole, a borough is a town, and a furrow is a groove in a field.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “barrow”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.