# Barking

/ˈbɑɹkɪŋ/ (US) · /bˈɑːkɪŋ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/barking
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 2. crazy

adjective · CEFR B2 · British English · Informal · Slang

completely crazy or very foolish.

For teachers: insane or extremely eccentric. This is a clipping of the phrase 'barking mad'.

- You must be barking if you think I'm going for a swim in this freezing weather.
- His plan to launch a luxury umbrella business in the middle of the desert was dismissed by his colleagues as utterly barking.

## Examples

- The dog is barking at the mail carrier.
- The neighbor's dog started barking loudly when the delivery truck pulled into the street.
- The sudden barking of the guard dogs echoed through the empty valley, startling the hikers who had been walking in silence.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.