yowl

American  

[youl] / yaʊl /

verb (used without object)

1. to utter a long, distressful or dismal cry, as an animal or a person; howl.

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noun

1. a yowling cry; a howl.

yowl British  

/ jaʊl /

verb

1. to express with or produce a loud mournful wail or cry; howl

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noun

1. a loud mournful cry; wail or howl

Other Word Forms

• yowler
  noun

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.

Example Sentences

Yowl, yowl, v.i. to cry mournfully, as a dog: to yell, bawl.—n. a distressed cry.—n.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various

For a Moment they were stunned by the Impact and then every Son of Peoria leaned back and let out a Yowl.

From Knocking the Neighbors by Ade, George

Yowl, to howl; the cry of a dog.

From The Proverbs of Scotland by Hislop, Alexander