Definition of "barbell" [bar•bell]

• A bar with adjustable weights at each end, lifted for sport or exercise. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In the body-piercing trade, it was what they called a barbell — a rod with a ball that screws on and off one end, just to keep the ornament from falling off, not unlike an earring post."
• "As for the vast majority (or perhaps the barbell is equally weighted at both ends) of people not being able to make a 'living wage,' I find this doubtful."
• "For more than a decade, banking experts have predicted an industry that is shaped like a "barbell" -- a few big banks at one end, thousands of tiny ones at the other and little in the middle."