Phrase guide

dogs bark, cats meow

phrase · 1 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.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /dɒɡz ˈbɑːk | kæts miˈaʊ/
  • General-American: /dɔɡz ˈbɑɹk | kæts miˈaʊ/
  • General-American, cot-caught-merger: /dɑɡz-/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

phrase

Meaning 1

Used to introduce something seen as inevitable or totally commonplace.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: humorous, idiomatic, informal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From dogs + bark (verb) + cats + meow (verb).

Across languages

Translations

2 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: vesi on märkää, taivas sininen (ja ...) — used to introduce something seen as inevitable or totally commonplace
  • Polish: no nie gadaj — used to introduce something seen as inevitable or totally commonplace