barking

bark·ing
B3A1R1K5I1N1G2
US/ˈbɑɹkɪŋ/UK/ˈbɑːkɪŋ/UK/ˈbɑː(ɹ)kɪŋ(ɡ)/

noun

The action of the verb to bark.

“He’s going to run the marathon in this hot weather dressed as Donald Duck – he must be barking!”

Similar
latrantthree stops short of Dagenham5150bananasbarking madfeybuggishbuggy
OriginMiddle English berkyng →
Less commonScrabble 14
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

barking1

verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of bark

    Synonyms: latrant

adjectivebarking (comparative more barking, superlative most barking)

comparative more barking · superlative most barking

  1. BritishabbreviationclippingslangClipping of barking mad.

    He’s going to run the marathon in this hot weather dressed as Donald Duck – he must be barking!

    Synonyms: three stops short of Dagenham, 5150, bananas, barking mad, fey, buggish, buggy, bughouse

barking2

nounbarking (plural barkings)

plural barkings

  1. The action of the verb to bark.

    Old pigtailed seamen would tell of horseshoes found in the meat casks; of curious barkings and neighings heard in the slaughter-houses; and of negroes who disappeared near the victualling yards, to be seen no more.

    1905, John Masefield, Sea Life in Nelson's Time

    Synonyms: latration

Barking3

proper noun
  1. A town in the borough of Barking and Dagenham, in eastern Greater London, England (OS grid ref TQ4484).
  2. A village and civil parish in Mid Suffolk district, Suffolk, England (OS grid ref TM0753).

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe action of the verb to bark.

Similar
latration
Also see
730bakedbananasbarking madbatchybuggishchicken orientalcookedcrackedcrackerscrazycrazy as a pet cooncrazy as a shithouse ratdaftderangeddistraughtdoolallyfruityinsaneinsane in the membranelatrantmadmad as a march haremodmoonsicknot right in the headnucking futsnuttyoff the deep endschizscrewystark raving madthree stops short of dagenhamweird

Origin

barking · verb, adjective

  1. Middle Englishberkyng
  2. Englishbarking

From Middle English berkyng, berkande, equivalent to bark + -ing.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

barking · noun

  1. Middle Englishberkyng
  2. Englishbarking

From Middle English berkyng, berking, berkynge, equivalent to bark + -ing.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Barking · proper noun

Compare older names such as Medieval Latin Berchingae (from the Domesday Book) and Latin Berecingum.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 犬吠, 吠叫
  • 犬吠 (quǎnfèi)Translations
  • 吠叫 (fèijiào)Translations
Dutch geblaf
  • geblafTranslations
French aboiement
  • aboiementTranslations
German Bellen, Gebell
  • BellenTranslations
  • GebellTranslations
Hindi बुक्कन
  • बुक्कन (bukkan)Translations
Italian abbaiamento
  • abbaiamentoTranslations
Russian лай
  • лай (laj)Translations
Spanish ladradera, ladradura (disused)
  • ladraderaTranslations
  • ladradura (disused)Translations
  • ladreríaTranslations
  • ladreríoTranslations
Turkish havlama
  • havlamaTranslations
Ukrainian гавкіт
  • гавкіт (havkit)Translations

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with barking

parkingmarkingarcing
All rhymes →

Anagrams

braking
Cite this entry
APA

barking. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barking

MLA

“barking.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barking. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “barking,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barking.

Source: barking on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.