howl
Americanverb (used without object)
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howls,
present (3rd person singular)
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howled,
past participle, past
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howling
present participle
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to utter a loud, prolonged, mournful cry, as that of a dog or wolf.
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to utter a similar cry in distress, pain, rage, etc.; wail.
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to make a sound like an animal howling.
The wind howls through the trees.
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Informal. to go on a spree; enjoy oneself without restraint.
verb (used with object)
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howls,
present (3rd person singular)
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howled,
past participle, past
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howling
present participle
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to utter with howls.
to howl the bad news.
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to drive or force by howls (often followed bydown ).
to howl down the opposition.
noun
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howls
plural
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the cry of a dog, wolf, etc.
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a cry or wail, as of pain, rage, or protest.
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a sound like wailing.
the howl of the wind.
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a loud, scornful laugh or yell.
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something that causes a laugh or a scornful yell, as a joke or funny or embarrassing situation.
noun
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a long plaintive cry or wail characteristic of a wolf or hound
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a similar cry of pain or sorrow
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slang
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a person or thing that is very funny
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a prolonged outburst of laughter
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electronics an unwanted prolonged high-pitched sound produced by a sound-producing system as a result of feedback
verb
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to express in a howl or utter such cries
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(intr) (of the wind, etc) to make a wailing noise
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informal (intr) to shout or laugh
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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howlsimple
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howlssimple
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have howledperfect
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has howledperfect
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am howlingprogressive
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are howlingprogressive
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is howlingprogressive
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have been howlingperfect progressive
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has been howlingperfect progressive
Past
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howledsimple
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had howledperfect
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was howlingprogressive
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were howlingprogressive
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had been howlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of howl
1300–50; Middle English hulen, houlen (v.); cognate with Dutch huilen, Low German hülen, German heulen, Danish hyle; akin to Old Norse ȳla
Explanation
To howl is to make a long, sad, crying sound. You might howl every once in a while, but it's more common to hear wolves and dogs let loose and howl, especially in the presence of a full moon. Terribly sad or fearful people howl, and wolves howl to communicate with each other. Your dog might howl at the sound of a passing fire truck, which also makes a noise with its siren that you can call a howl. Before the 1400s, the word was houlen, a word that probably emerged as an imitation of the way a howl sounds.
Vocabulary lists containing howl
Instead of "Said": Words For Sad Speech
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 8
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Yelping and Yowling: Synonyms for "Cry"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
On “All Them Horses” Mr. Kahan ably channels Mr. Vernon’s falsetto howl on a song that uses a flood as a metaphor for personal transformation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
"It's okay to jump up and down and howl at the moon," he added.
From Barron's ● Apr. 11, 2026
This ranges from shapes captured on trails or infrared cameras to a howl or witness testimony, allowing Bigfooters to hypothesise what that means about the beast's "anatomy, behaviour, sociality and levels of intelligence".
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026
The howl and whine of the opening few bars of “Chains of Love” conjure images of the ghostly moors, before transforming into a catchy midtempo pop number.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2026
The kitten that leaps through the air from Poppet’s hands to her brother’s suddenly twists in the air, landing on its back rather than its feet and rolling toward Widget with an indignant howl.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Predictably, Auburn’s faculty has responded with howls of outrage, decrying these intrusions on the faculty’s authority over academic operations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
In the summer, the temperature is always above 100; in the winter, the wind howls and shakes our townhouse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
Loudspeakers at O-World, which has been closed to visitors since Neukgu's escape, have been blaring wolf howls and park announcements - the ones that Neukgu grew up listening to.
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026
Short-range cues still matter: ravens might be following signals like wolf howls to find fresh kills at shorter distances.
From Barron's ● Mar. 12, 2026
The door of the café blows open, sending a gust of rain-spiked wind inside that is met with howls of annoyance from the patrons and the clattering of the umbrellas in their stands.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Pub owners, lawmakers, travel writers and travel drinkers all howled in protest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
By daybreak, the winds from Typhoon Fung-wong which had howled all night had died down, and people came out to see the damage.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2025
They veiled the stage in gauze on “Copy of A,” casting dozens of Reznor shadows while he strutted and howled about a despondent, depersonalized modernity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2025
As the winds howled and friends called her with updates on the fire, the real estate people finished, packed up and headed out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2025
She bared her teeth and howled once more, face to the sky.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Unverified images on social media show large plumes of smoke and flames rising into the sky in daytime, with air raid sirens howling in the background.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
But some residents aren’t so enthused with the nightly howling, saying that it’s disruptive and keeps them from getting a full night’s sleep.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Desperate, he led his army back across the Delaware River through a howling nor’easter on Christmas night to attack the surprised Hessian garrison at Trenton, N.J.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Caspian “C-Bird” Hollywell’s wide-eyed, frenetic energy and howling vocals come up against the sweet, mournful steel pedal guitar of suit-and-tie-wearing “Razor” Ramon Santos.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
All the dogs in the field were howling for supper.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
