What does barcode mean?
A barcode is a machine-readable symbol in which information is encoded as a pattern of parallel lines and spaces of varying widths, designed to be read optically by a scanner. Barcodes are ubiquitous in modern commerce: they identify products at supermarket checkouts, track parcels through delivery networks, appear on library books, tickets and identity cards, and encode ISBNs on published books. The most familiar form is the one-dimensional linear barcode, but the term is now often extended to two-dimensional symbols such as QR codes, which store far more data in a compact square grid. Scanning a barcode takes a fraction of a second, replacing manual entry of long identification numbers and dramatically reducing errors. The word itself combines 'bar', referring to the printed stripes, with 'code', meaning a system of symbols for conveying information. First patented in the early 1950s and commercially adopted from the 1970s onward, the barcode has become one of the quiet workhorses of the global economy, so ordinary that it is easy to overlook how thoroughly it reshaped retail and inventory management.
nounA machine-readable code in which data is represented by a pattern of parallel lines of varying widths and spacing, printed on goods and scanned to identify them; the term also covers two-dimensional variants such as QR codes.
- A series of printed parallel bars and spaces of varying widths that encodes data readable by an optical scanner.
- By extension, any similar machine-readable symbol, including two-dimensional codes such as QR codes.
"The cashier scanned the barcode on each item at the checkout."
"Every product in the supermarket carries a barcode that identifies it at the till."
"She scanned the barcode on her boarding pass and the gate number appeared on screen."
Regular plural; used when referring to multiple coded items or symbols.
"All the barcodes on the shipment were scanned within minutes."
The barcode was inspired by Morse code — its inventors literally sketched the first version with dots and dashes extended into lines, drawn in the sand on a Miami beach in 1949.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of barcode
The word 'barcode' is a twentieth-century English compound formed from 'bar' (the printed stripes) and 'code' (an encoding system). The underlying concept was invented in the late 1940s by Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver, whose first design was inspired by Morse code, and it was commercialized in the 1970s with the adoption of the Universal Product Code. The compound follows the same transparent 'X-code' pattern seen in words like 'zip code' and 'QR code'.
How barcode is actually used
An everyday, register-neutral word used in retail, logistics, publishing (ISBN barcodes) and technology. It functions almost exclusively as a noun; 'barcode' as a verb is rare and non-standard. Often used attributively, as in 'barcode scanner' or 'barcode label'.
Easily confused with barcode
A barcode is traditionally a one-dimensional pattern of parallel lines, while a QR code is a specific two-dimensional square matrix capable of storing far more data.