Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

barn owl

noun
  1. a yellowish-brown and white owl, Tyto alba, often inhabiting barns and other buildings.
Show More

Origin of barn owl

First recorded in 1665–75
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for barn owl

Historical Examples of barn owl

  • He had heard the boy give it, and now he cautiously repeated, three times, the softly quavering call of the barn-owl.

    When 'Bear Cat' Went Dry

    Charles Neville Buck

  • The barn-owl is the "screech" owl of bird literature; the brown owl the true hooting owl.

  • Of this the barn-owl is perfectly aware, and at evening he may be seen sweeping low over the meadows seeking whom he may devour.

  • Like the species last described—the Barn-Owl—it has an exceedingly wide range.

British Dictionary definitions for barn owl

barn owl

noun
  1. any owl of the genus Tyto, esp T. alba, having a pale brown and white plumage, long slender legs, and a heart-shaped face: family Tytonidae
Show More
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012