From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbarbbarb /bɑːb $ bɑːrb/ noun [countable] 1 PARTSHARPthe sharp curved point of a hook, arrow etc that prevents it from being easily pulled out2 MAKE FUN OFa remark that is clever and amusing, but also cruel → barbed
Examples from the Corpus
barb• His jeering remarks had hidden barbs, and just went to prove how little he cared either way.• Abel, for example, is obviously a Democrat, as he slipped more than a few anti-Reagan barbs into his presentation.• Yesterday, Mrs Aquino aimed her sharpest barbs at her civilian enemies.• We thrive on the superficial barb, and shrink from the deeper, more complex, less titillating ambiguities of an issue.• The performance had the legislature, including the subjects of the barbs, rocking with laughter.• Everybody liked grandmotherly Barbara Bush, who kept her wicked barbs private and mostly stayed out of public political combat.Origin barb (1300-1400) Old French barbe “barb, beard”, from Latin barba 