hoot owl

noun

any of various owls that hoot.

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to say or do hesitantly or awkwardly

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Origin of hoot owl

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85

Words nearby hoot owl

hoosegow, hoosier, hoosier cabinet, hoosier state, hoot, hoot owl, hootch, hootchinoo, hootchy-kootchy, hootenanny, hooter

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for hoot owl

From the Bowhead the sound comes like the drawn-out "hoo-hoo-oo-oo-oo" of the hoot-owl.
The New North|Agnes Deans Cameron
Very often they sighed, and sometimes there was a pensive quietness broken only by the hoot-owl.
A Little Florida Lady|Dorothy C. Paine
The distant sound of a hoot-owl startled Flea from her tears.
From the Valley of the Missing|Grace Miller White
She goes 'bout the lake doin' nothin' but hollerin' like a hoot-owl, and she don't have enough to eat.
From the Valley of the Missing|Grace Miller White

The call of the hoot-owl was too familiar to the Coombeland men to deceive.
Crown and Sceptre|George Manville Fenn

British Dictionary definitions for hoot owl

hoot owl

noun

any owl that utters a hooting cry, as distinct from a screech owl

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