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anything built or serving to bar passage, as a railing, fence, or the like:
People may pass through the barrier only when their train is announced.
any natural bar or obstacle:
a mountain barrier.
anything that restrains or obstructs progress, access, etc.:
a trade barrier.
a limit or boundary of any kind:
the barriers of caste.
Physical Geography. an antarctic ice shelf or ice front.
barrier beach.
barriers, History/Historical. the palisade or railing surrounding the ground where tourneys and jousts were carried on.
Archaic. a fortress or stockade.
Contemporary Examples

The first in the room, to knock down the door, to break down the barriers, to pave the road that we all walk on.
Barbara Walters’s Final ‘The View’: A Tearful Farewell Befitting an Icon Kevin Fallon May 15, 2014

Little by little, the barriers between the mainstream and adult worlds are breaking down.
Porn Keeps Up with the Kardashians: Belle Knox on the Mainstreaming of Adult Stars Aurora Snow September 26, 2014

Davis-Bellamy says that Philadelphia Ceasefire outreach workers help hustlers get off the corner by addressing these barriers.
Homicide Spike Terrorizes Philly Jeff Deeney January 28, 2012

There is colossal marketing power to break down the barriers between ages and incite [children] to adopt adult behavior.
Toddlers Denied Tiaras: Behind the French Push to Ban Pageants Christopher Dickey September 18, 2013

No doubt the barriers to getting it done are large as they should be.
How I’d Fix D.C. Gridlock Bob Kerrey February 7, 2010

Historical Examples

A great outrage on the spirit of Justice breaks down all barriers of race and nationality.
The Eternal City Hall Caine

She had chafed when the barriers rose between her mind and theirs.
Audrey Craven May Sinclair

In these few hours of alarm and close intimacy the man and the woman had leaped all the barriers time and pride had set up.
Carolyn of the Corners Ruth Belmore Endicott

Hence there should be a free crossing of the barriers in use of materials at all times.
College Teaching Paul Klapper

As we entered the barriers we put on our stilts, and marched boldly on.
Peter Simple Frederick Marryat

noun
anything serving to obstruct passage or to maintain separation, such as a fence or gate
anything that prevents or obstructs passage, access, or progress: a barrier of distrust
anything that separates or hinders union: a language barrier

an exposed offshore sand bar separated from the shore by a lagoon
(as modifier): a barrier beach

(sometimes capital) that part of the Antarctic icecap extending over the sea
n.

early 14c., barere, from Anglo-French barrere, Old French barriere “obstacle, gatekeeper,” from barre “bar” (see bar (n.1)). First record of barrier reef is from 1805.

barrier bar·ri·er (bār’ē-ər)
n.

A structure, such as a fence, built to bar passage.

A boundary or limit.

An obstacle or impediment.

Something that separates or holds apart.

Something immaterial that obstructs or impedes behavior.

A physical or biological factor that limits the migration, interbreeding, or free movement of individuals or populations.