What does barreling mean?
Barreling is the present-participle form of the verb barrel, most often meaning to put or store wine, beer, cider, or another product in a barrel. The spelling is especially common in American English, while British English commonly uses barrelling. In a second, more physical or figurative use, something barrels when it bulges, rolls, or advances with a rounded, barrel-like shape; “barreling waves” describes waves building into a high, forward-moving wall. Barreling therefore connects a straightforward act of containment with a vivid image of rounded mass and forward motion. The word is most useful in descriptions of beverage production, storage, or handling, and in accounts of powerful seas, smoke, or other things moving in a swelling form. It can also function nominally in phrases such as “the barreling of the wine,” although it is more commonly treated as a verb form. In careful prose, casking may be more precise when the container is specifically a cask.
verbBarreling means putting or storing something in a barrel, especially wine, beer, cider, or another liquid. It can also describe something swelling, rolling, or moving forward in a rounded, barrel-like shape.
- Putting or storing something in a barrel.
- Swelling, rolling, or moving forward with a rounded, barrel-like shape.
"Storm waves were barreling toward the shore as the fishermen returned to harbor."
"The brewery workers spent the afternoon barreling the new batch of cider."
"Smoke was barreling through the doorway as the firefighters entered the building."
A barrel can hold what we make, while barreling lets it take on the barrel’s shape—hence the vivid image of waves barreling toward shore.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does barreling come from?
Barreling was formed by adding the present-participle suffix -ing to barrel. Barrel entered Middle English through Anglo-French and Old French forms and ultimately derives from a Romance form associated with Latin barra, meaning “bar.” Related Romance forms, including French barrique, a cask, account for cognates such as barrel, barrelful, and barrique.
How barreling is actually used
The spelling “barreling” is especially common in American English, while “barrelling” is common in British English. The physical sense is often figurative when describing waves, smoke, clouds, or other large masses moving forward with a rounded or swelling form.