howler
Americannoun
-
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.
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
-
(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
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
When one agent was pregnant and went on maternity leave, they brought a rattle made from the throat of a howler monkey for the baby to play with.
From BBC • Oct. 25, 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
Shriek like a howler monkey, and start slapping myself like I’d gone wild and maybe see if I could scare them away.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
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.
