bark

1 of 5

verb (1)

ˈbärk 

barked; barking; barks

intransitive verb

1

a

: to make the characteristic short loud cry of a dog

b

: to make a noise resembling a bark

2

: to speak in a curt loud and usually angry tone : snap

3

informal : to produce a usually sharp, sudden pain

… at 36 and with his mustache turning gray and his body barking back in pain, Luis DeLeon is in spring training with the Cubs.

—Joseph A. Reaves

The shoulder is pain-free for now, but his elbow barks at him occasionally …

—Mike Lupica

transitive verb

1

: to utter in a curt loud usually angry tone

an officer barking orders

2

: to advertise by persistent outcry

barking their wares

bark

2 of 5

noun (1)

1

a

: the sound made by a barking dog

b

: a similar sound

2

: a short sharp peremptory tone of speech or utterance

bark

3 of 5

noun (2)

1

: the tough exterior covering of a woody root or stem

specifically : the tissues outside the cambium that include an inner layer especially of secondary phloem and an outer layer of periderm

2

: cinchona sense 2

3

: a candy containing chocolate and nuts that is made in a sheet and broken into pieces

bark

4 of 5

verb (2)

barked; barking; barks

transitive verb

1

: to treat with an infusion of tanbark

2

a

: to strip the bark from

b

: to rub off or abrade the skin of

barked a shin on the desk

bark

5 of 5

noun (3)

variants or barque

ˈbärk 

1

a

: a small sailing ship

b

: a sailing ship of three or more masts with the aftmost mast fore-and-aft rigged and the others square-rigged

2

: a craft propelled by sails or oars

Phrases

bark up the wrong tree

: to promote or follow a mistaken course (as in doing research)

someone's bark is worse than his/her bite

—used to say that someone known for harsh or angry speech does not actually treat others in an unfairly harsh or harmful way

Chairman Paul Millership was larger than life and shouted his orders loud and clear. But his bark was worse than his bite and he was scrupulously fair to employees who put in the effort.

—The Nottingham Evening Post

Synonyms

Verb (1)

• snap
• snarl

Verb (2)

• flay
• hull
• husk
• peel
• shell
• shuck
• skin

Noun (3)

• dinghy
• sailboat
• windjammer

Examples of bark in a Sentence

Verb (1)

the new supervisor found that speaking to people with a civil tongue got better results than barking at them

Verb (2)

barking a tree will probably kill it

Noun (3)

took a small bark out on the lake

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Or, to extrapolate Anderson’s hacks to this example, creating a competition with a sales incentive would be significantly more impactful than barking instructions. —Michelle Stansbury, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025

Kaitlyn Bristowe thinks her ex is barking up the wrong tree. —Hannah Sacks, People.com, 7 Apr. 2025

Noun

Fine details of fur and bark are clearly visible both in sunlight and under shade, with the mini-LED backlight keeping the sunny parts of the frame bright and the shadowy parts dark. —PC Magazine, 28 Apr. 2025

Types of mulch and how to use them Though the most common type of mulch used around trees and in garden beds is comprised of wood chips and bark, there are other types of organic mulch that can help protect and nourish plants, too. —Maryal Miller Carter, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English berken, from Old English beorcan; akin to Old Norse berkja to bark, Lithuanian burgėti to growl

Noun (2)

Middle English, from Old Norse bark-, bǫrkr; akin to Middle Dutch & Middle Low German borke bark

Noun (3)

Middle English, from Middle French barque, from Old Occitan barca, from Late Latin

First Known Use

Verb (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (2)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (3)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing bark

• bark beetle
• elm bark beetle
• smaller European elm bark beetle
• someone's bark is worse than his/her bite

Rhymes for bark

• arc
• ark
• barque
• dark
• hark
• lark
• marc
• mark
• marque
• narc
• quark
• shark

Kids Definition

bark

1 of 5 verb

ˈbärk 

1

: to make the short loud cry of a dog or a similar noise

2

: to shout or speak sharply

bark out an order

bark

2 of 5 noun

: the sound made by a barking dog

bark

3 of 5 noun

: the tough covering of a woody root or stem

bark

4 of 5 verb

1

: to strip the bark from

2

: to rub or scrape the skin of

barked her knee

bark

5 of 5 noun

variants or barque

1

: a small sailing ship

2

: a three-masted ship with the first two masts square-rigged and the last fore-and-aft rigged

Etymology

Verb

Old English beorcan "to bark"

Noun

Middle English bark "tree covering," of Scandinavian origin

Noun

Middle English bark "a small ship," from early French barque (same meaning)

Medical Definition

bark

noun

ˈbärk 

1

: the tough exterior covering of a woody root or stem

2

: cinchona sense 3