barrage

Borrowed from French barrage.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbæɹɑːʒ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /bəˈɹɑːʒ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

barrage (plural barrages)

1. an artificial obstruction, such as a dam, in a river designed to increase its depth or to divert its flow
2. a heavy curtain of artillery fire directed in front of one's own troops to screen and protect them (Wikipedia)
3. a concentrated discharge of projectile weapons
   • 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 1, in Internal Combustion‎:

     Blast after blast, fiery outbreak after fiery outbreak, like a flaming barrage from within, […] most of Edison's grounds soon became an inferno. As though on an incendiary rampage, the fires systematically devoured the contents of Edison's headquarters and facilities.

4. (by extension) an overwhelming outburst of words, especially of criticism
   • 2016 February 20, “Obituary: Antonin Scalia: Always right”, in The Economist:

     Lesser lawyers who were vague in oral argument faced a barrage of sarcasm or, if he agreed with them, constant chiding to do better.

5. (fencing) A "next hit wins" contest to determine the winner of a bout in case of a tie.

barrage (third-person singular simple present barrages, present participle barraging, simple past and past participle barraged)

1. (transitive) to direct a barrage at; to bombard

• barrage balloon
• barrage jamming
• rolling barrage

barrer +‎ -age

• IPA^(key): /ba.ʁaʒ/, /bɑ.ʁaʒ/

• audio

  (file)

barrage m (plural barrages)

1. dam, barrage
2. barrier, roadblock

• faire barrage à

• “barrage” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

• bagarre, bagarré