BARRIER REEF • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Barrier reef

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/bˈæriər rif/ Listen

noun

Barrier n.

(Fort.) A carpentry obstruction, stockade, or other obstacle made in a passage in order to stop an enemy.

A fortress or fortified town, on the frontier of a country, commanding an avenue of approach.

pl. A fence or railing to mark the limits of a place, or to keep back a crowd. "No sooner were the barriers opened, than he paced into the lists."

Any obstruction; anything which hinders approach or attack. "Constitutional barriers."

Any limit or boundary; a line of separation. "'Twixt that (instinct) and reason, what a nice barrier!"

Barrier gate, a heavy gate to close the opening through a barrier.

Barrier reef, a form of coral reef which runs in the general direction of the shore, and incloses a lagoon channel more or less extensive.

To fight at barriers, to fight with a barrier between, as a martial exercise. (Obs.)

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Etymology of 'Barrier reef'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Barrier reef" Quotes from Famous Books

... their heads and wailing. The drums now beat faster and a wild weird chant rose into the air, then died away and all was silent, except perhaps for the lapping of the waves on the sand or the muffled thunder of the surf afar off on the barrier reef. Thus one ghost after another was summoned from the dusty dead and vanished again into the darkness. When all had come and gone, the leader of the chorus, who kept himself invisible behind the screen save for a moment when he was seen by the chorus to glide behind the mummy on its stage, ...

— The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead, Volume I (of 3) • Sir James George Frazer

... practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources natural hazards: cyclones ...

— The 1995 CIA World Factbook • United States Central Intelligence Agency

... on the Mary Gloster then, and first that night in Hell! Yet was Thy hand beneath my head, about my feet Thy care — Fra' Deli clear to Torres Strait, the trial o' despair, But when we touched the Barrier Reef Thy answer to my prayer! We dared not run that sea by night but lay an' held our fire, An' I was drowsin' on the hatch — sick — sick wi' doubt an' tire: "Better the sight of eyes that see than wanderin' o' desire!" Ye mind that word? Clear as our gongs — again, an' once again, When ...

— Verses 1889-1896 • Rudyard Kipling

... by the Dutch steamer William M'Kinnon, on September 20th, 1877, for Somerset. The sail inside the Barrier Reef is most enjoyable. The numerous islands passed, and the varied coast scenery make the voyage a very pleasant one—especially with such men as our captain and mates. On Sunday, the 30th, we reached Somerset, where we were met by the Bertha, with Mr. McFarlane on board ...

— Adventures in New Guinea • James Chalmers

... on my bed with hair brushes, razors and things, they got to talking of Australia; and that was all about fighting too: dog fights, fist fights between bullockies on the long road from Northern Queensland, riots in Perth when the pearlers came in off the Barrier Reef to spend their pay, rows in the big shearing sheds when the Union men objected to unskilled labour—you'd have thought Australia was one big battlefield, with nothing else but fights worth talking of from dawn ...

— Affair in Araby • Talbot Mundy