yowl
Americanverb (used without object)
-
yowls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
yowled,
past participle, past
-
yowling
present participle
noun
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
yowlsimple
-
yowlssimple
-
have yowledperfect
-
has yowledperfect
-
am yowlingprogressive
-
are yowlingprogressive
-
is yowlingprogressive
-
have been yowlingperfect progressive
-
has been yowlingperfect progressive
Past
-
yowledsimple
-
had yowledperfect
-
was yowlingprogressive
-
were yowlingprogressive
-
had been yowlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of yowl
1175–1225; Middle English yuhele, yule, youle, apparently from a cry of pain or distress yuhele; compare Old English geoh- (in geohthu grief )
Explanation
A yowl is a loud cry or howl, especially one that an animal makes. If you accidentally step on your cat's tail, you'll probably hear her yowl. Poor kitty. Use this imitative word as a noun or a verb, any time you're describing a wild cry of distress. Your new puppy may yowl all night long the first couple of times you make him sleep in a crate at the foot of your bed — and if his yowling goes on too long, you may find yourself starting to yowl along with him.
Vocabulary lists containing yowl
Into the Wild
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Yelping and Yowling: Synonyms for "Cry"
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Louisiana’s Way Home
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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:
But they had connected him to a current of fury, and the urge to yowl for justice or revenge flooded his throat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2025
The cathartic yowl at the start of his debut solo single, “Crazy Train,” was telling: “All aboooooardd!”
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2025
These dogs aren’t huge barkers, but they might yowl at you, especially if you aren’t getting the leash for a walk quickly enough.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2025
At 61, Rose's vocals aren't what they once were, but he can still pull off a wolverine yowl when he warms up - and his snarling delivery remains convincingly menacing.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2023
An outraged yowl arose as the infant was exposed to air.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
He had heard a tip from some former clients that the mournful yowls of lynx had been heard overnight near the public viewing area, so we reinstalled ourselves nearby on his secret mountain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
“I feel like letting my freak flag fly,” Crosby yowls over dueling electric guitars in this beautifully scratchy declaration of weirdo pride.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2023
Robotnik, who also goes by the name Eggman, eggs them on with gleeful yowls.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 5, 2022
Actually, sometimes he yowls at 4AM because he doesn’t like eating alone, making us sit with him as he chows down on kibble.
From The Verge ● Dec. 24, 2021
Barks, yowls, grunts and hyena laughter filled the air.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
She checked in with her sister, who once worked at an animal shelter, and learned that cats that yowled were either in distress, in heat or lost.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2024
John Wall skipped and yowled at the end of practice Saturday.
From Washington Times ● May 14, 2017
During the ride, Grenoble periodically yowled in pain and complained about the handcuffs, at one point saying he couldn’t feel his hands.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 17, 2015
Westerberg and Stinson yowled their vocals like stray cats, and Foley crisply, deftly negotiated the rhythmic turns on "Merry Go Round."
From Chicago Tribune ● Jul. 5, 2011
The thing yowled as it ran under the car, a sound Toby couldn’t get out of his head for weeks.
From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss
In one number, Swinton, who goes glossy-eyed to show the cracks in her high-fashion veneer, poses in a transparent rain slicker while bleating raw, yowling noises that blend with the despairing strings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2024
"It's three-tiered, with a nasal low register, a yowling, cutting middle range and a high register so startlingly clear it sounds like a falsetto," Pareles wrote in a 1987 concert review.
From Reuters ● May 24, 2023
The yowling prince Lewis Capaldi has made hay from singing himself hoarse, his hits filled with raw eruptions of schlock so potent they transcend past corn into something far more cooked.
From New York Times ● Sep. 9, 2022
Our clingy cat would lose us and wander the two floors, yowling plaintively until we called out, guiding him in like a game of Marco Polo.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 20, 2022
A deluge of chaotic sound rose from its depths: roaring, barking, yowling, whimpering.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
