howler
[ hou-ler ]
/ ˈhaʊ lər /
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.
RELATED WORDS
deception, defect, exaggeration, blunder, lapse, misstep, mistake, goof, fault, indiscretion, blooper, inaccuracy, error, gaffe, oversight, flaw, omission, miscue, glitch, misunderstanding
Nearby words
howitzer, howk, howl, howl down, howland island, howler, howlet, howlin' wolf, howling, howling success, howlingly
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for howler
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
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Word Origin and History for howler
howler
1832, "animal that howls," agent noun from howl (v.). Meaning "glaring blunder, ridiculous mistake" is first recorded 1890.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper