Skip to main content
arf

arf

1 9.7
A short sharp sound like a dog's bark
  • other
  • /ɑrf/
: guau
  • The little dog ran to the gate and let out a loud arf to greet its owner.

Examples

  • Whenever the mailman approaches, my dog likes to arf excitedly and wag his tail.

  • At the park, the puppy kept barking arf arf to get the children to play with him.

  • M. Woolf: Woolf! (arf arf snarl) Woolf! (aril yowl yargh)

    Fiction book (1991)
  • M. Woolf: Woolf! (arf arf snarl) Woolf! (aril yowl yargh)

    Fiction book (1991)

Synonyms

woof
vsarf
59 1.0

A short sound a dog makes to show it is alert or happy

is the short sharp variant rather than the general sound
bark
vsarf
56 1.0

A sharp loud sound that a dog makes

is shorter and sharper, not mainly about loudness
ruff
vsarf
23 5.3

A short sharp sound a dog makes when it barks once

is the short sharp style rather than other dog noises
bowwow
vsarf
  • Baby Talk
1 6.5

A sound people say to copy a dog's bark

is a brief sharp form rather than a playful imitation
wuff
vsarf
1 9.7

A soft dog sound like a gentle bark

is a short sharp sound rather than a soft gentle one

How Loud

bark
56 1.0
to woof
3 2.4
arf
1 9.7
yip
12 7.6

Surface Forms

arf main

Etymology

Arf comes from people imitating a dog's quick bark, so it is used to show the dog's 'short, sharp bark' in speech or writing, much like woof.