owl
Americannoun
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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.
Suffolk Owl Sanctuary said the kits were bred as part of a programme that would see them released into protected reserves in the wild.
From BBC • Jun. 25, 2026
Blackstone opted for a bigger payout in the first quarter to reassure clients, a strategy Blue Owl and Cliffwater also adopted.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
That sparked more worries about the health of the sector in general, driving stocks like KKR, Blackstone and Blue Owl down around 4% on Wednesday.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026
Marc Lipschultz, co-CEO of embattled private-equity firm Blue Owl Capital, told investors in April that the company had realized roughly 10-times returns by selling about half of its SpaceX investment at a $1.25 trillion valuation.
From Barron's • May 22, 2026
His dad worked in the barite mine and spent his evenings at the Owl Club, so Billy had a lot of unsupervised time on his hands.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
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.
