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bark

1
[ bahrk ]
/ bɑrk /
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See synonyms for: bark / barked / barking on Thesaurus.com

noun
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
to utter in a harsh, shouting tone: barking orders at her subordinates.
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Idioms about bark

    bark at the moon, to protest in vain: Telling her that she's misinformed is just barking at the moon.
    bark up the wrong tree, to assail or pursue the wrong person or object; misdirect one's efforts: If he expects me to get him a job, he's barking up the wrong tree.

Origin of bark

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English berken, beorken, borken, barke, Old English beorcan; akin to Old English borcian “to bark,” Old Norse berkja “to bluster, boast,” Lithuanian burgė́ti “to growl, quarrel,” Serbo-Croatian br̀gljati “to murmur”

OTHER WORDS FROM bark

barkless, adjective

Other definitions for bark (2 of 3)

bark2
[ bahrk ]
/ bɑrk /

noun
verb (used with object)

Origin of bark

2
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old Norse bǫrkr (genitive barkar )

OTHER WORDS FROM bark

barkless, adjective

Other definitions for bark (3 of 3)

bark3

or barque

[ bahrk ]
/ bɑrk /

noun
Nautical. a sailing vessel having three or more masts, square-rigged on all but the aftermost mast, which is fore-and-aft-rigged.
Literary. a boat or sailing vessel.

Origin of bark

3
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English barke, from Old French barque, ultimately from Late Latin barca “small boat, barge, bark”; akin to Latin bāris, from Greek bâris “Egyptian flat-bottomed boat, raft, barge,” from Coptic barī “boat, barge”
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bark in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bark (1 of 3)

bark1
/ (bɑːk) /

noun
verb

Word Origin for bark

Old English beorcan; related to Lithuanian burgěti to quarrel, growl

British Dictionary definitions for bark (2 of 3)

bark2
/ (bɑːk) /

noun
a protective layer of dead corky cells on the outside of the stems of woody plants
any of several varieties of this substance that can be used in tanning, dyeing, or in medicine
an informal name for cinchona
verb (tr)

Word Origin for bark

C13: from Old Norse börkr; related to Swedish, Danish bark, German Borke; compare Old Norse björkr birch

British Dictionary definitions for bark (3 of 3)

bark3
/ (bɑːk) /

noun
a variant spelling (esp US) of barque
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for bark

bark
[ bärk ]

The protective outer covering of the trunk, branches, and roots of trees and other woody plants. Bark includes all tissues outside the vascular cambium. In older trees, bark is usually divided into inner bark, consisting of living phloem, and outer bark, consisting of the periderm (the phelloderm, cork cambium, and cork) and all the tissues outside it. The outer bark is mainly dead tissue that protects the tree from heat, cold, insects, and other dangers. The appearance of bark varies according to the manner in which the periderm forms, as in broken layers or smoother rings. Bark also has lenticels, porous corky areas that allow for the exchange of water vapor and gases with the interior living tissues.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with bark

bark

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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