bark

¹ American  

[bahrk] / bɑrk /

noun

1. the abrupt, harsh, explosive cry of a dog.

2. a similar sound made by another animal, as a fox.

3. a short, explosive sound, as of firearms.

   the bark of a revolver.

4. a brusque order, reply, etc..

   The foreman's bark sent the idlers back to their machines.

5. a cough.

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verb (used without object)

1. (of a dog or other animal) to utter an abrupt, explosive cry or a series of such cries.

2. to make a similar sound.

   The big guns barked.

3. to speak or cry out sharply or gruffly.

   a man who barks at his children.

4. Informal. to advertise a theater performance, carnival sideshow, or the like, by standing at the entrance and calling out to passersby.

5. to cough.

verb (used with object)

1. to utter in a harsh, shouting tone.

   barking orders at her subordinates.

   Synonyms:

   bawl, roar, yell, bellow, shout

idioms

1. 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.

2. bark at the moon, to protest in vain.

   Telling her that she's misinformed is just barking at the moon.

bark ² American  

[bahrk] / bɑrk /

noun

1. the external covering of the woody stems, branches, and roots of plants, as distinct and separable from the wood itself.

2. Tanning. a mixture of oak and hemlock barks.

3. candy, usually of chocolate with large pieces of nuts, made in flat sheets.

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verb (used with object)

1. to rub off or scrape the skin of, as by bumping into something.

   to bark one's shins.

2. to remove a circle of bark from; girdle.

3. to cover, enclose, or encrust with or as if with bark.

4. to treat with a bark infusion; tan.

5. to strip the bark from; peel.

bark ³ American  

[bahrk] / bɑrk /

Or barque

noun

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

2. Literary. a boat or sailing vessel.

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bark ¹ British  

/ bɑːk /

noun

1. a protective layer of dead corky cells on the outside of the stems of woody plants

2. any of several varieties of this substance that can be used in tanning, dyeing, or in medicine

3. an informal name for cinchona

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verb

1. to scrape or rub off skin, as in an injury

2. to remove the bark or a circle of bark from (a tree or log)

3. to cover or enclose with bark

4. to tan (leather), principally by the tannins in barks

bark ² British  

/ bɑːk /

noun

1. the loud abrupt usually harsh or gruff cry of a dog or any of certain other animals

2. a similar sound, such as one made by a person, gun, etc

3. he is bad-tempered but harmless

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verb

1. (intr) (of a dog or any of certain other animals) to make its typical loud abrupt cry

2. (intr) (of a person, gun, etc) to make a similar loud harsh sound

3. to say or shout in a brusque, peremptory, or angry tone

   he barked an order

4. informal to advertise (a show, merchandise, etc) by loudly addressing passers-by

5. informal to misdirect one's attention, efforts, etc; be mistaken

bark ³ British  

/ bɑːk /

noun

1. a variant spelling (esp US) of barque

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bark Scientific  

/ bärk /

1. 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.

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bark More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing bark

• talk one's arm off (the bark off a tree)

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Other Word Forms

• barkless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of bark¹

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”

Origin of bark²

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

Origin of bark³

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”

Explanation

A bark is the loud, sharp sound a dog makes. Seals also bark, and people sometimes bark with laughter or bark out commands. Bark is both a noun and a verb: if your dog is known for his noisy bark, it means that he barks all the time. There is also the type of bark that covers the trunk of a tree, and yet another bark, an old-fashioned word for a masted ship. When you "bark up the wrong tree," you have completely misunderstood a situation, the way a squirrel-chasing dog does when she literally barks in the wrong direction.

Example Sentences

From Sauvignon Bark, the new wine for dogs, to the nuttiest of combat sports...

From Barron's • Oct. 17, 2025

Meanwhile, his first solo album went platinum and the follow-ups, Diary of a Madman and Bark at the Moon, were also best-sellers.

From BBC • Jul. 22, 2025

There’s also the White Hazelnut Bark Coffee, which offers “notes of both white chocolate and toasted hazelnut blended with cream and Dunkin’ Original Blend iced or hot coffee.”

From Salon • Oct. 29, 2024

Bark scars on trees in Ma’amtagila territory interweave their people today with prior generations.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 12, 2023

“Rontu,” I said, “you have always liked to bark at the seagulls. Whole mornings and afternoons you have barked at them. Bark at them now for me.”

From "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell

Related Words

• clamor
• cry
• growl
• grumble
• mutter
• roar
• snarl
• yell