barker
/ˈbɑː(ɹ)kɚ/noun
barker is spelled B-A-R-K-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.9 times per million words in written English, the 13,127th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, barker means “Someone or something who barks” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of barker is barkers.
How many letters and syllables are in barker?
| Letters | 6: B-A-R-K-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.9 times per million words; the 13,127th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is barker?
Barker appears 3.9 times per million words in written English, the 13,127th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce barker?
- /ˈbɑː(ɹ)kɚ/
Barker has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-barker.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with barker?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as barker.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: braker.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of barker
- barkers plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does barker mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Someone or something who barks.
My neighbor's dog is a constant barker that keeps me awake at night.
- 2
A person employed to solicit customers by calling out to passersby, e.g. at a carnival.
Bob had amassed a considerable stockpile of double entendres from his days working as a barker for a strip joint.
- 3
A shelf-talker.
- 4
A video game mode where the action is demonstrated to entice someone to play the game.
The barker looks action-packed, but actually playing the game is rather dull.
- 5
datedslangA pistol.
- 6
The spotted redshank.
- 7
A person who removes needed or valuable tree bark, as on a cinnamon or cinchona plantation.
The profession of barker has been made largely obsolete by the realization that in most cases saplings can be cultivated far more profitably.
- 8
obsoleteA tanner.
The profession of barker has been made largely obsolete by the introduction of more effective tanning agents, but it lives on as a surname.
- 9
A machine used to remove unneeded bark from wood.
Run these logs through the barker so we can use them as fence posts.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Barker in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | aboyeur |
| German | Anpreiser, Rekommandeur, Marktschreier |
| Spanish | cascador, cascarillero |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does barker come from?
From Middle English berkere; equivalent to bark (“dog noise”) + -er.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).