Search Result for "barn": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (2)

1. an outlying farm building for storing grain or animal feed and housing farm animals;

2. (physics) a unit of nuclear cross section; the effective circular area that one particle presents to another as a target for an encounter;
[syn: barn, b]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Barn \Barn\ (b[aum]rn), n. [OE. bern, AS. berern, bern; bere barley + ern, [ae]rn, a close place. [root]92. See Barley.] A covered building used chiefly for storing grain, hay, and other productions of a farm. In the United States a part of the barn is often used for stables. [1913 Webster] Barn owl (Zool.), an owl of Europe and America (Aluco flammeus, or Strix flammea), which frequents barns and other buildings. Barn swallow (Zool.), the common American swallow (Hirundo horreorum), which attaches its nest of mud to the beams and rafters of barns. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Barn \Barn\, v. t. To lay up in a barn. [Obs.] --Shak. [1913 Webster] Men . . . often barn up the chaff, and burn up the grain. --Fuller. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Barn \Barn\, n. A child. See Bairn. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

barn n 1: an outlying farm building for storing grain or animal feed and housing farm animals 2: (physics) a unit of nuclear cross section; the effective circular area that one particle presents to another as a target for an encounter [syn: barn, b]
The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):

barn n. [uncommon; prob. from the nuclear military] An unexpectedly large quantity of something: a unit of measurement. ?Why is /var/adm taking up so much space?? ?The logs have grown to several barns.? The source of this is clear: when physicists were first studying nuclear interactions, the probability was thought to be proportional to the cross-sectional area of the nucleus (this probability is still called the cross-section). Upon experimenting, they discovered the interactions were far more probable than expected; the nuclei were ?as big as a barn?. The units for cross-sections were christened Barns, (10^-24 cm^2) and the book containing cross-sections has a picture of a barn on the cover.
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary:

Barn a storehouse (Deut. 28:8; Job 39:12; Hag. 2:19) for grain, which was usually under ground, although also sometimes above ground (Luke 12:18).
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

BARN, estates. A building on a farm used to receive the crop, the stabling of animals, and other purposes. 2. The grant or demise of a barn, without words superadded to extend its meaning, would pass no more than the barn itself, and as much land as would be necessary for its complete enjoyment. 4 Serg. & Rawle, 342.