prowl
Americanverb (used without object)
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prowls,
present (3rd person singular)
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prowled,
past participle, past
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prowling
present participle
verb (used with object)
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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
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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
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have been prowlingperfect progressive
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has been prowlingperfect progressive
Past
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prowledsimple
-
had prowledperfect
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was prowlingprogressive
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were prowlingprogressive
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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:
Sessa was born to prowl around wild-eyed in retro polyester.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
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
Wealth managers prowl dental conferences for prospective clients.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026
He began to prowl the length of the living room back and forth, and by seven o’clock he had made them all nervous.
From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty
“Everyone could do it. I like that visual — instead of the enemy tempts you, it prowls around, like a roaring lion, looking to devour. That’s actually more realistic than, like, tapping on your shoulder.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 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
There’s been some talk of expanding the parking enforcers’ duties to include some things cops do now, like directing traffic or responding to car prowls.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2022
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
They prowled top school districts favored by parents and looked for neighborhoods near Starbucks coffee shops, which signal disposable income.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026
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
So the first roar of the 2025 Lions has been heard - some old cats who have prowled this terrain before, some cubs who are experiencing this for the first time.
From BBC ● May 8, 2025
He had ridden down the kingsroad almost as far as Queenscrown, prowled through the empty hovels of Mole’s Town, inspected the ruined forts at Queensgate and Oaken- shield.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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
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
Mick Cronin just seems to be angry all the time prowling the sidelines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2026
When Ms. Noonan compares Prime Minister Netanyahu to a sleek and prowling operator and an “animal,” it doesn’t seem like she means the Lion of Judah.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2025
About midnight, a black bear came prowling around the margins of the camp, spied the bag, and brought it down by climbing one of the trees and breaking a branch.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
