one's bark is worse than one's bite
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Someone is less harmful than they seem to be.
Literally: a dog's bark vs its bite
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The new boss seems intimidating, but one's bark is worse than one's bite.
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “one's bark is worse than one's bite” mean?
Someone is less harmful than they seem to be. Literally: a dog's bark vs its bite
Is “one's bark is worse than one's bite” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.