Standard Lemma guide

barking

adj · name · noun · verb · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˈbɑɹkɪŋ/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈbɑːkɪŋ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)kɪŋ
  • UK: /ˈbɑː(ɹ)kɪŋ(ɡ)/
  • CMU ARPABET: B AA1 R K IH0 NG Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Clipping of barking mad.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: British, abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, slang

Examples

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

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: three stops short of Dagenham, 5150, bananas, barking, barking mad, buggish, buggy, bughouse, barmy, batchy, batpoop, bats, batty, bonkers, bread baskets, cracked, crackers, cra-cra, cray, cray-cray, crazed, crazy, crazy as a bedbug, crazy as a cootie, crazy as a cootie bug, crazy as a pet coon, cuckoo, daffy, daft, demented, deranged, distraught, disturbed, doolally, dotty, eccentric, fruit loops, gaga, hatstand, harebrained, insane, kooky, loon, loco, loony, loony tunes, loopy, lunatic, mad, mental, mentally ill, meshigener, meshugge, moonsick, nerts, non compos mentis, nonsane, nucking futs, nut job, nutballs, nut, nuts, nutso, nutty, nutter, off the beam, off the chain, over the edge, potty, psycho, psychoceramic, psychotic, sicko, screwy, squirrelly, starkers, tonto, unbalanced, unsane, wackadoodle, weird, whackjob, whacko, whacky, wode, yampy, zany, apeshit, batcrap, batshit, bat-shit, fucked in the head, fucked up, ripshit

Antonyms: none provided

2

name

Meaning 2

A town in the borough of Barking and Dagenham, in eastern Greater London, England (OS grid ref TQ4484).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

name

Meaning 3

A village and civil parish in Mid Suffolk district, Suffolk, England (OS grid ref TM0753).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The action of the verb to bark.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: latration

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

present participle and gerund of bark

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, gerund, participle, present

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: latrant

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

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

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

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

Across languages

Translations

19 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Belarusian: брэх (brex) — Translations
  • Belarusian: гаўканне (hawkannje) — Translations
  • Belarusian: звяга (zvjaha) — Translations
  • Chinese Mandarin: 犬吠 (quǎnfèi) — Translations
  • Chinese Mandarin: 吠叫 (fèijiào) — Translations
  • Dutch: geblaf — Translations
  • French: aboiement — Translations
  • German: Bellen — Translations
  • German: Gebell — Translations
  • Hindi: बुक्कन (bukkan) — Translations
  • Italian: abbaiamento — Translations
  • Russian: лай (laj) — Translations
  • Sanskrit: बुक्कन (bukkana) — Translations
  • Spanish: ladradera — Translations
  • Spanish: ladradura (disused) — Translations
  • Spanish: ladrería — Translations
  • Spanish: ladrerío — Translations
  • Turkish: havlama — Translations
  • Ukrainian: гавкіт (havkit) — Translations