howler
Americannoun
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a person, animal, or thing that howls.
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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.
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a mistake, especially an embarrassing one in speech or writing, that evokes laughter; a very humorous mistake or a funny blunder.
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Informal. something that makes a piercing and often prolonged noise, as an alarm.
noun
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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
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informal a glaring mistake
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(formerly) a device that produces a loud tone in a telephone receiver to attract attention when the receiver is incorrectly replaced
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a person or thing that howls
Etymology
Origin of howler
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The biggest howler here is the sovereignty claim.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026
The home side rode their luck against in-form Villa, who hit the woodwork twice before Mohamed Salah scored his 250th goal for the club following a howler from Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2025
On a night of redemption for the England defender, Mings returned to the scene of his howler - and helped Villa take a huge step towards the quarter-finals of European football's most prestigious competition.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2025
That’s the point of their famous howl, which can be heard for miles: It warns off other howler groups and prevents fighting over food resources.
From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2024
Fiddler crabs scurry when you’re ten yards away; howler monkeys stir in their branches when you’re at twenty; African buffaloes react at seventy-five.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
