owl
Americannoun
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owls
plural
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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.
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one of a breed of domestic pigeons having an owllike appearance.
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a person of owllike solemnity or appearance.
adjective
noun
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any nocturnal bird of prey of the order Strigiformes, having large front-facing eyes, a small hooked bill, soft feathers, and a short neck
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any of various breeds of owl-like fancy domestic pigeon (esp the African owl, Chinese owl, and English owl )
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a person who looks or behaves like an owl, esp in having a solemn manner
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing owl
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.
See Examples For:
Make sure the lion or owl is in business attire.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
In 2021, Fresno High School changed its mascot from a warrior to an image of one of its main buildings, Royce Hall, featuring an owl and an international baccalaureate symbol.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 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
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
As Abel ran to retrieve his weapon, the owl dived.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
Despite monitoring barn owls for 15 years, Dudhill said the experience "never gets boring".
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
That definition stood for decades, notably surviving a 1995 Supreme Court case focused on the protection of old-growth forests for spotted owls.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
At the same time, generations of owls continually deposited bones throughout the cave, providing countless hollow tooth sockets that solitary bees could use.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026
The town tried whirligigs and plastic owls to ward off the birds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
For all the sleep I got that night, I may as well have stayed up with the hoot owls.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
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.
