on the prowl

1. Actively looking for something, as in Their underpaid computer programmers are always on the prowl for better jobs. This idiom transfers an animal's search for prey to human pursuits that are usually less bloodthirsty. [c. 1800]

Example Sentences

By late April, when the roses start blooming, they’ve already been pruned and fertilized, but Bifano is always on the prowl for any signs of disease or pests.

From Los Angeles Times

And it's not just men on their own out on the prowl.

From BBC

Saxon is the preening alpha male, vocally on the prowl for sex, telling his little brother that he needs to drink more protein shakes and man up.

From Los Angeles Times

Soundless, but titled “The listening dimension,” the installation demands being alert — like a human animal on the prowl, one could say, a beast who depends on being acutely observant for survival.

From Los Angeles Times

As much of Seattle tries to sleep, the Hellcat supercar goes on the prowl, the howls of its engine and the explosive backfires from its tailpipes echoing off the high-rise towers downtown.

From New York Times