on the prowl

Idioms  

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]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

on the prowl

Many of these wealthy buyers are on the prowl for vacation homes.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

But to define her solely as a feline, “forever on the prowl for her own kind of ‘mousing prospects,’” seems limiting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Using the winger to go on the prowl is one of the small changes Laviolette plans to bring.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

“Goldilocks” was the byword for the bull market of the past few years, but now the three bears—oil, gold, and the Fed—are on the prowl, and there may be no happy ending.

From Barron's ● Mar. 20, 2026

That was his way of telling every living thing in those Cherokee bottoms to look out, for a mighty hunter and a bluetick hound were on the prowl.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls