Definition
On a surface weather map, the short lines drawn at an angle from the end of a wind shaft to indicate wind speed. Each full barb represents 10 knots, each half barb represents 5 knots, and a solid triangle (sometimes called a pennant) represents 50 knots. The barbs are placed on the side of the shaft that points away from the direction the wind is coming from.
Plain English
Barbs are the small lines sticking out from a wind symbol on a weather map. You count them to figure out how fast the wind is blowing.
Context Anchor
Seen on surface weather maps and station plots when reading wind direction and wind speed.
Derivation
From the Latin barba, meaning beard. The little lines look like the bristles of a beard sticking out from the wind shaft, which is why they are called barbs.
Why Pilots Care
Allows quick reading of wind speed to assess crosswind components, headwinds, and turbulence risk before flight.
Intuition Check
Do not think of barbs as physical hooks or sharp objects here. In this FAA weather-map context, barbs are printed marks that show wind speed.
Example Sentence 1
The station model showed a wind shaft with two full barbs and one half barb, indicating a wind of 25 knots.
Example Sentence 2
A half barb on the surface map meant only 5 knots, so the crosswind was light enough for the runway.