a tube through which a bullet travels when a gun is fired
"The shooter adjusted his grip on the barrel of the rifle to ensure accuracy."
A round vessel or cask, of greater length than breadth, and bulging in the middle, made of staves bound with hoops, and having flat ends or heads. Sometimes applied to a similar cylindrical container made of metal, usually called a drum.
"The cooper carefully assembled the wooden barrel to ensure its staves were tightly bound by iron hoops before filling it with wine."
In plain English: A barrel is a large, round container made of wood that you can roll around easily.
"The sailor climbed inside the wooden barrel to sleep on the rough ship deck."
Usage: Use "barrel" as a noun for any large cylindrical container used historically for storing liquids like beer or oil, though it now also describes the shape of certain guns and drums. When using it as a verb, remember that you can only say someone is being "barreled up," not simply "barreling."
put in barrels
"The winemaker carefully poured the fresh grape juice into wooden barrels to age it properly."
To put or to pack in a barrel or barrels.
"The workers had to barrel all the harvested apples before winter arrived."
In plain English: To barrel means to move forward very fast and without stopping, often crashing into things along the way.
"The heavy rain began to barrel down on the street, washing away the leaves in seconds."
The word barrel comes from Middle English and earlier forms in Anglo-Norman and Old French, though its ultimate origin remains uncertain. While some scholars have tried to link it to words meaning "bar," this connection does not make sense given how a container for liquids or goods differs significantly from a solid rod.