From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbarkbark1 /bɑːk $ bɑːrk/ ●●○ verb 1 [intransitive]HBAC when a dog barks, it makes a short loud sound or series of sounds → growlbark at The dog always barks at strangers.2 (also bark out) [transitive]TELL somebody OFF to say something quickly in a loud voicebark at ‘Don’t just stand there, give me a hand, ’ she barked at the shop assistant.3 → bark up the wrong tree4 [transitive]MIINJURE to rub the skin off your knee, elbow etc by falling or knocking against something SYN graze I barked my shin against the step.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
bark• They began to bark as she walked the few yards to his front door.• The symptoms are periodic spells of regression: They drop to all fours, bark, befoul their apartments.• Rin Tin Tin barked in sync, but the cowboys kept talking long after their mouths were closed.• One minute the coach was barking orders at kids kicking off down the field.• Meanwhile our lord and master would sit and drink one cup of tea after another, barking orders from time to time.• Was he about to bark out a reprimand? she wondered.• I knocked on the door; the knocks barked sharply over stone floors.bark at• Can you make the dog stop barking at the mailman?• The sergeant barked orders at us.barkbark2 ●●○ noun 1 HBADHP[countable] the sharp loud sound made by a dog2 HBP[uncountable] the outer covering of a tree3 C[countable] a loud sound or voice Amy’s voice was a hoarse bark.4 → somebody’s bark is worse than their biteExamples from the Corpus
bark• Wood and bark Wood and bark are essential constituents of a vast number of instruments.• The slow, languid monologue was followed by yips, then by barks, and more howls.• Their inner bark was used to cure frostbite.• Despite appearances, its bark is definitely worse than its bite.• Guilt, cosmic guilt, stains the knobbly bark.• Flat nostrils opened in the bark of its face.• the bark of the guns• The bark beetle in this tree does not kill them, unless they are going to die anyway.• Black too is a color, and the deep ridges of persimmon tree bark are an almost-black striated with dark gray.Origin bark1 Old English beorcan bark2 1. (1500-1600) → BARK12. (1200-1300) Old Norse börkr 