VocabauraVOCABAURA

bark

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To make a short, loud, explosive noise with the vocal organs.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

bahrk
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈbɑɹk

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. intransitive

    To make a short, loud, explosive noise with the vocal organs (said of animals, especially dogs).

  2. intransitive

    To make a clamor; to make importunate outcries.

  3. Speak in an unfriendly tone

  4. transitive

    To speak sharply.

  5. To abrade or rub off any outer covering from.

  6. To girdle.

noun

  1. The sound made by a dog

  2. The short, loud, explosive sound uttered by a dog, a fox, and some other animals.

  3. figuratively

    An abrupt loud vocal utterance.

  4. countableuncountable

    The exterior covering of the trunk and branches of a tree.

  5. Hard candy made in flat sheets, for instance out of chocolate, peanut butter, toffee or peppermint.

  6. The crust formed on barbecued meat that has had a rub applied to it.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To make a short, loud, explosive noise with the vocal organs (said of animals, especially dogs).

Used this way, bark is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use bark

  • “The dogs barked at the stranger.”verb

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “bark”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Remove

birch barktree bark

Sound

bark cloth

Other combinations

peruvian barkbark beetleoak barkbark canoe

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • barkernounInflected form

    Someone who stands in front of a show (as at a carnival) and gives a loud colorful sales talk to potential customers.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • barking deernounCompound term

    Small Asian deer with small antlers and a cry like a bark.

  • barking frognounCompound term

    Of southwest United States and Mexico.

  • bark beetlenounCompound term

    Small beetle that bores tunnels in the bark and wood of trees.

  • bark-lousenounCompound term

    Any of several insects living on the bark of plants.

  • cassia-bark treenounCompound term

    Chinese tree with aromatic bark.

  • angostura barknounCompound term

    The bitter bark of a South American tree.

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “bark” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.