prowl
Americanverb (used without object)
-
prowls,
present (3rd person singular)
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prowled,
past participle, past
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prowling
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
prowls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
prowled,
past participle, past
-
prowling
present participle
noun
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prowls
plural
idioms
verb
noun
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the act of prowling
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-
moving around stealthily
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zealously pursuing members of the opposite sex
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Synonym Usage
See lurk.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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prowlsimple
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prowlssimple
-
have prowledperfect
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has prowledperfect
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am prowlingprogressive
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are prowlingprogressive
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is prowlingprogressive
-
have been prowlingperfect progressive
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has been prowlingperfect progressive
Past
-
prowledsimple
-
had prowledperfect
-
was prowlingprogressive
-
were prowlingprogressive
-
had been prowlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of prowl
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English prollen; origin uncertain
Explanation
If you move stealthily — like you're looking for something to prey on — then you prowl. Your cat might prowl around the room and pounce on your feet, which is cute if you're awake, but annoying when you're asleep. The noun prowl means the act of moving as if to capture prey. You could take a prowl through the music shop and try to find your favorite vintage album. Prowl is also used in the phrase "on the prowl," which implies that the person doing the prowling is looking for a romantic partner. Your idea of a fun Saturday night might be staying home while your friends go on the prowl at the dance club.
Vocabulary lists containing prowl
Unit 1: Telling Details
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Touching Spirit Bear
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Where the Red Fern Grows
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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:
Many of these wealthy buyers are on the prowl for vacation homes.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
Singer Abigail Morris made full use of the stage to prowl around and lead the crowd into a wild sing-a-long to Nothing Matters.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026
For him, the experience was similar to the feeling of waking up from a dream and wanting to go back so you can prowl around a little longer.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
Big Pharma is on the prowl for biotech companies, but it’s being stingy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
“Wait a minute. That’s Junior Palmer’s prowl car. He’s a deputy sheriff.”
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Founder and executive producer Andrés Rigal, part master of ceremonies and part fairy godmother, prowls the line, handpicking the most striking attendees and sending them past the bouncer with a nod and a smile.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2025
Diaz said roughly one-third of the guns Seattle police recover in any given year have been reported stolen, usually in residential burglaries and, to a lesser extent, car prowls.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 5, 2023
Les Amazones, for example, is a rhythmically playful workout for the strings; while Minotaure prowls around the orchestra with sinister, tremoring bass notes from the cellos and the brass.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2023
A panther prowls through tract housing, a polar bear strolls near oil rigs, a bison stands in a parking lot and a wolf trots past an interior wall papered with renderings of trees.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 6, 2023
She prowls forward—like a lioness moving in for the kill.
From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein
Its waters supported giant turtles and crocodylians, while an extraordinary collection of hunters prowled the surrounding shores.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
“Let’s get to work. Operators, to your battle stations,” instructed Maliuk as he prowled the room, according to video footage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025
Maria Fuertes, 43, and her daughter had prowled the area for more than seven hours, since 9 a.m., shopping for outfits for a December wedding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2025
Williams, a Compton kid like Kendrick, performed the Crip Walk - a notorious Los Angeles dance move - as the headliner prowled the stage.
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2025
Voldemort did not speak, but prowled in a circle, and Harry knew that he kept him temporarily mesmerized and at bay, held back by the faintest possibility that Harry might indeed know a final secret....
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
Nancy Guthrie, 84, disappeared on the night of January 31-February 1, with recovered security camera footage showing a masked and gloved person prowling outside her home in the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
Elaine Forbes, 53, was charged Tuesday with one count of prowling on private property, two counts of lodging without an owner’s consent and one count of petty theft, according to Marin County Superior Court records.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
With Itoje prowling the touchline, coach Steve Borthwick could not risk destabilising England's line-out - and robbing it of precious on-pitch leadership - by removing veteran hooker Jamie George.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026
As America entered World War II, New York City was threatened by prowling U-boats off the coast and Nazi spies lodged in Manhattan hotels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
This person has stooped, narrow shoulders and a prowling kind of walk.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
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.
