howler

[ hou-ler ]

/ ˈhaʊ lər /

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See synonyms for howler on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person, animal, or thing that howls.

Also called howler monkey. any large, prehensile-tailed tropical American monkey of the genus Alouatta, the males of which make a howling noise: some species are endangered.

a mistake, especially an embarrassing one in speech or writing, that evokes laughter; a very humorous mistake or a funny blunder.

Informal. something that makes a piercing and often prolonged noise, as an alarm.

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Origin of howler

First recorded in 1790–1800; howl + -er¹

Words nearby howler

howitzer, howk, howl, Howland Island, howl down, howler, howlet, howling, howling success, Howlin' Wolf, howlround

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use howler in a sentence

Monkeys, including baboons, macaques and howler monkeys, make up another group of primates.
Scientists Say: Primate|Maria Temming|May 23, 2022|Science News For Students
Meanwhile, the idea that kids and chores would somehow fit into a standard workweek is a howler.
Carolyn Hax: Wife becomes at-home mom, husband quits all ‘house and kid stuff’|Carolyn Hax|January 18, 2022|Washington Post
“No matter the cause, she moves with such skill, she seems to know secrets I never will,” goes one of the many howlers in David Bryan and Joe DiPietro’s lay-it-on-thick score.
In time for Thanksgiving, Broadway serves up a turkey: ‘Diana’ the musical|Peter Marks|November 18, 2021|Washington Post
On one cattle ranch, he remembers, one partner knew that there was a howler monkey living on a forest island alongside several dozen workers.
This wild grassland in the Amazon isn’t as untouched as it seems|Philip Kiefer|October 7, 2021|Popular-Science

The latest is maybe the biggest howler yet, bigger than even the ad that mistook Duke basketball players for UK Wildcats.
Mitch McConnell’s Big Obamacare-Kynect Lie|Michael Tomasky|May 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His portrait of Izzy Yanay, a partner in the highly regarded Hudson Valley Foie Gras, is a howler.
A Three-Star Food Fight|Bob Spitz|March 12, 2009|DAILY BEAST
I remember, some years ago, how merrily you used to laugh about the "calamity-howler," whose habitat at that time was Kansas.
Humanly Speaking|Samuel McChord Crothers
The old man was alive during the telephone call from the Grand Central, and dead when the howler was put on for the first time.
Whispering Wires|Henry Leverage
The telephone call at five minutes past twelve, and the howler put on soon afterward, checks up.
Whispering Wires|Henry Leverage
She came a fearful howler over a book which she herself has read, to my knowledge, within the last fortnight.
Some Persons Unknown|E. W. Hornung
A reiterated word of the convulsive howler on the dock had stuck in the Tyro's mind.
Little Miss Grouch|Samuel Hopkins Adams

British Dictionary definitions for howler

howler

/ (ˈhaʊlə) /

noun

Also called: howler monkey any large New World monkey of the genus Alouatta, inhabiting tropical forests in South America and having a loud howling cry

informal a glaring mistake

British (formerly) a device that produces a loud tone in a telephone receiver to attract attention when the receiver is incorrectly replaced

a person or thing that howls

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

howler

Origin of howler

Words nearby howler

Words related to howler

How to use howler in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for howler