Meanings
- humorousidiomaticinformalUsed to introduce something seen as inevitable or totally commonplace.
You know what they say: dogs bark, cats meow, and sinners sin. Sinning comes natural to us. That's why we are in constant war with our flesh.
2009, Linda P. Kozar, Dannelle Woody, “Nature versus Nurture”, in Babes with a Beatitude: Devotions for Smart, Savvy Women of Faith, New York, N.Y.: Howard Books, →ISBN, page 1462 more examples
One of the world's hardest tasks is to convince innocent, liberal minded Christians, intellectuals and opinion-makers in the mass-communication media that Communists mean just what they say. They believe airplanes fly, boats sail, dogs bark, cats meow and rain falls … but after reading documents like the above, somehow they manage to put on rose colored glasses and parrot half truths like "there is freedom of religion in Communist countries, churches are free from government control, all is sweetness and light."
1961 May 28, Unbrainwashed [pseudonym], “Readers in council: No religious freedom in USSR [letter]”, in Kazushige Hirasawa, editor, The Japan Times, Tokyo: The Japan Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 8, column 8He's surprised to learn she knows he drinks too much. "It's in the Met Centre facts of life file," she says; "dogs bark, cats meow and Stenning drinks."
1986, Bill Warren, “1962 [The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)]”, in Keep Watching the Skies! American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties, volume II (1958–1962), Jefferson, N.C.; London: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 616
Origin
From dogs + bark (verb) + cats + meow (verb).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish vesi on märkää, taivas sininen (ja ...)
- vesi on märkää, taivas sininen (ja ...)used to introduce something seen as inevitable or totally commonplace
Polish no nie gadaj
- no nie gadajused to introduce something seen as inevitable or totally commonplace
Cite this entry
dogs bark, cats meow. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dogs%20bark%2C%20cats%20meow
“dogs bark, cats meow.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dogs%20bark%2C%20cats%20meow. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dogs bark, cats meow,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dogs%20bark%2C%20cats%20meow.
Source: dogs bark, cats meow on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.