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barn owl

See more synonyms for barn owl on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a yellowish-brown and white owl, Tyto alba, often inhabiting barns and other buildings.
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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

  • 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
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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