owl

American  

[oul] / aʊl /

noun

owls plural

1. any of numerous, chiefly nocturnal birds of prey, of the order Strigiformes, having a broad head with large, forward-directed eyes that are usually surrounded by disks of modified feathers: many populations are diminishing owing to loss of habitat.

2. one of a breed of domestic pigeons having an owllike appearance.

3. night owl.

4. a person of owllike solemnity or appearance.

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adjective

1. operating late at night or all night.

   an owl train.

owl British  

/ aʊl /

noun

1. any nocturnal bird of prey of the order Strigiformes, having large front-facing eyes, a small hooked bill, soft feathers, and a short neck

2. any of various breeds of owl-like fancy domestic pigeon (esp the African owl, Chinese owl, and English owl )

3. a person who looks or behaves like an owl, esp in having a solemn manner

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owl Idioms  

1. see night owl.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• owl-like
  adjective
• owllike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• owls
  plural

Etymology

Origin of owl

before 900; Middle English oule, Old English ūle; cognate with Low German ūle, Dutch uil; akin to German Eule, Old Norse ugla

Explanation

While most birds are known for their tweeting, owls are known for their hooting. If you hear a "hoot" in the woods, look for an owl (But bring your flashlight; owls are nocturnal.). Owls share some similarities with hawks — both birds are predators, with very strong beaks and claws meant for grabbing mice, insects, rabbits, and even fish. One notable difference is that an owl has eyes on the front of its face, while most hawks have eyes on the sides of their heads. To compensate, owls can turn their heads as much as 270 degrees, to see what's behind them. Owl comes from an imitative root — a word that sounds like an owl's hoot.

Example Sentences

Whereas a night owl who can easily work into the night might favour the squeeze.

From BBC • Jul. 5, 2026

"The piece of its upper arm bone that we have is about 4 inches long, so the entire dinosaur probably had something like a four-foot wingspan, around the size of a barn owl."

From Science Daily • Jun. 23, 2026

My wildlife checklist grew: red kites, black-winged kites, common buzzards, golden eagles, Spanish imperial eagles, a goshawk, three types of owl, two kinds of vulture.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026

They recently paid to treat an owl that had been severely burned when a drone crashed into its tree.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

Hoping to catch Abel napping, the owl swept down from an old decayed tree—it seemed at home in rotten trees—but Abel had his spear at the ready the moment the owl reached him.

From "Abel's Island" by William Steig

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