barney

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈbɑːnɪ/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(bär′nē)

Inflections of 'barney' (n): npl: barneys

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
bar•ney  (bär′nē),USA pronunciation n., pl. -neys. 
  1. Informal Terms
    • an argument.
    • a prizefight.
    • a fight or brawl.
    • a blunder or mistake.
  2. a small locomotive used in mining and logging.
  3. Cinema, Show Business[Motion Picture Slang.]a heavily padded cover for a camera, used to reduce the camera noise so that it will not be picked up by the sound-recording equipment.
  • perh. special uses of Barney 1860–65

Bar•ney  (bär′nē),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. a male given name, form of Bernard. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
barney / ˈbɑːnɪ/
  1. a noisy argument
 (intransitive)
  1. to argue or quarrel
Etymology: 19th Century: of unknown origin
'barney' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Richler - old field

Forum discussions with the word(s) "barney" in the title:


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