as in ships
a boat equipped with one or more sails
took a small bark out on the lake
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in shouts
to speak sharply or irritably
the new supervisor found that speaking to people with a civil tongue got better results than barking at them
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of barks
Bestreviews,
Mercury News,
17 June 2026
Caspar David Friedrich has sketchbooks of particular branches, twigs, barks of different trees.
—
Literary Hub,
12 May 2026
Foxes use a variety of calls, including barks, howls, yaps, and growls.
—
Arricca Elin Sansone,
Southern Living,
16 Apr. 2026
And while humans can often discern animal distress calls or differentiate dog barks, many animal noises may seem inconsequential to the untrained human ear.
—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
19 Mar. 2026
One hums with high-speed drills and anxiety; the other echoes with joyful barks and tail wags.
—
Henry I. Miller,
STAT,
28 Jan. 2026
On our third day, a late-afternoon beach landing on Sante Fe deposited us amid a colony of sleeping sea lions, their barks and coughs reverberating across the sandy shore.
—
Julia Zaltzman,
Robb Report,
26 Jan. 2026
That Doberman, the two black Labradors and a standard poodle better watch out for the two Chihuahuas, their barks say.
—
Nicole Villalpando,
Austin American Statesman,
23 Dec. 2025
The duo jumped and screamed in celebration, with their dogs joining the fun with a few barks and squeals.
—
Moná Thomas,
PEOPLE,
15 Dec. 2025
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
20 May 2026
Much like a dog that barks at every little noise and passerby, my skin is reactive.
—
Devon Abelman,
Allure,
24 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, the same neighbor’s dog barks at all hours, day and night, and a large shoe rack sits outside her door — an eyesore and a fire code violation.
—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
17 Apr. 2026
The scolding was met with more meows and barks.
—
Clara McMichael,
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
The pup barks excitedly before the door swings open and Koch drops to her knees to receive kisses and greetings.
—
Samantha Agate,
Kansas City Star,
14 Apr. 2026
Sadie excitedly barks before the door opens and Koch drops to her knees to receive kisses and greetings from the pup.
—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
14 Apr. 2026
Heck, even our beloved pup, Dale, barks whenever a squirrel’s hiding in the networking hardware!
—
Jed Feiman,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
On these tracks Slayyyter uses her voice as a much blunter instrument than before, paring back the melisma and amping up the chants, barks, and outright screams.
—
Harry Tafoya,
Pitchfork,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
Incense usually comes in either cone or stick form and is composed of fragrant material — usually resins, seeds, barks and flowers — that’s bound together using a combustible material.
—
Bestreviews,
Mercury News,
17 June 2026
Caspar David Friedrich has sketchbooks of particular branches, twigs, barks of different trees.
—
Literary Hub,
12 May 2026
Foxes use a variety of calls, including barks, howls, yaps, and growls.
—
Arricca Elin Sansone,
Southern Living,
16 Apr. 2026
And while humans can often discern animal distress calls or differentiate dog barks, many animal noises may seem inconsequential to the untrained human ear.
—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
19 Mar. 2026
One hums with high-speed drills and anxiety; the other echoes with joyful barks and tail wags.
—
Henry I. Miller,
STAT,
28 Jan. 2026
On our third day, a late-afternoon beach landing on Sante Fe deposited us amid a colony of sleeping sea lions, their barks and coughs reverberating across the sandy shore.
—
Julia Zaltzman,
Robb Report,
26 Jan. 2026
That Doberman, the two black Labradors and a standard poodle better watch out for the two Chihuahuas, their barks say.
—
Nicole Villalpando,
Austin American Statesman,
23 Dec. 2025
The duo jumped and screamed in celebration, with their dogs joining the fun with a few barks and squeals.
—
Moná Thomas,
PEOPLE,
15 Dec. 2025
Verb
Mac barks at Andi as the two of them drive home.
—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
20 May 2026
Much like a dog that barks at every little noise and passerby, my skin is reactive.
—
Devon Abelman,
Allure,
24 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, the same neighbor’s dog barks at all hours, day and night, and a large shoe rack sits outside her door — an eyesore and a fire code violation.
—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
17 Apr. 2026
The scolding was met with more meows and barks.
—
Clara McMichael,
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
The pup barks excitedly before the door swings open and Koch drops to her knees to receive kisses and greetings.
—
Samantha Agate,
Kansas City Star,
14 Apr. 2026
Sadie excitedly barks before the door opens and Koch drops to her knees to receive kisses and greetings from the pup.
—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
14 Apr. 2026
Heck, even our beloved pup, Dale, barks whenever a squirrel’s hiding in the networking hardware!
—
Jed Feiman,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
On these tracks Slayyyter uses her voice as a much blunter instrument than before, paring back the melisma and amping up the chants, barks, and outright screams.
—
Harry Tafoya,
Pitchfork,
2 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barks
Noun
-
The search spanned roughly 2,400 square miles and involved officials from the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Air Force who used three surface ships and 12 aircraft, according to the military.
-
On July 4, the ships will participate in what organizers say will be the largest-ever flotilla of international tall ships and military vessels in New York Harbor.
Verb
-
This peels the macro noise off the 10-K, leaving behind a clean, company-specific dataset that background models can actually calculate.
-
As the series peels back the secrets surrounding the coastal town, Southwick’s performance evolves from rebellious teenager to a young man forced to confront painful truths about his family and his place in a much larger story.
Verb
-
If a street preacher shouts their sermon into a bullhorn on a public street, and a nearby business owner calls the police, who is in the right?
-
Sirens, horns, and shouts to evacuate rang out in the West Bottoms and along Southwest Boulevard all morning, but the speed of the flooding still caught everyone off guard.
Noun
-
Kelce would take the women on dates to concerts, on yachts and on private jets.
-
Standing near yachts, Mercedes Moné boasts about winning the Owen Hart Cup for the second consecutive year.
Verb
-
Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder yells a lot of things from the dugout during a game, usually aimed at his own players.
-
Sirianni yells to the man, who continues toward the building without a reaction.
Noun
-
Berlin is reportedly planning to scrap a multi-billion-euro project to build the F126 frigates, in which Rheinmetall was expected to become the lead contractor.
-
French frigates used machine guns, cannons and sophisticated air-defense missiles to fend off Houthi strikes.
Verb
-
Security snarls The TSA PreCheck line at terminal B in LaGuardia Airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, on March 27, 2026.
-
Beyond the red tape that snarls any new apartment, condominiums confront an additional hurdle.
Noun
-
View of model sailboats displayed in the windows of homes, Monhegan Island, Maine, 1979.
-
Though an improvement from sailboats of previous generations, VELA’s massive ship isn’t exactly what most would call lightning fast.
Cite this Entry
“Barks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barks. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
