barrack
n. countablen. a building where soldiers live. It is usually a large, simple house with many rooms for a group of people.
n. a building or group of buildings for the accommodation of soldiers. Often used in the plural to refer to the entire complex.
The soldiers live in a large barrack near the base.
After the long march, the recruits were exhausted and relieved to finally reach the barracks for the night.
The historic barracks, originally constructed in the mid-nineteenth century, have been converted into luxury apartments while retaining their original architectural features.
Borrowed from French baraque, from Spanish barraca or Catalan barraca, which is of uncertain origin. It is probably either a diminutive of Vulgar Latin barra (“bar”), of unclear origin, or a diminutive of Vulgar Latin barrum (“clay, mud”) from Celtiberian or Paleo-Hispanic.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated May 25, 2026