prowl

American  

[proul] / praʊl /

verb (used without object)

1. to rove or go about stealthily, as in search of prey, something to steal, etc.

   Synonyms:

   roam

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verb (used with object)

1. to rove over or through in search of what may be found.

   The cat prowled the alleys in search of food.

noun

1. act of prowling.

idioms

1. on the prowl, in the act of prowling; searching stealthily.

   The cat is on the prowl for mice.

prowl British  

/ praʊl /

verb

1. to move stealthily around (a place) as if in search of prey or plunder

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noun

1. the act of prowling

2. 1. moving around stealthily

   2. zealously pursuing members of the opposite sex

Related Words

See lurk.

Other Word Forms

• prowler noun
• prowlingly adverb
• unprowling adjective

Etymology

Origin of prowl

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English prollen; origin uncertain

Example Sentences

That was his way of telling every living thing in those Cherokee bottoms to look out, for a mighty hunter and a bluetick hound were on the prowl.

From Literature

Pete, the rescue cat she got more than a decade ago and who she thinks is 16 years old, prowls in, quite at home in the apparent chaos.

From BBC

In 1925 he set off for Paris where, Ms. Albers writes, he helped pioneer a style of photography that eschewed working in a studio in favor of “prowling the city” for snapshots.

From The Wall Street Journal

They prowled around them, seemingly uninterested in the adult humans—their eyes were on Christopher and Mal.

From Literature

I jump up from the bed, prowling the room.

From Literature

Related Words

• lurk
• roam
• scavenge
• skulk
• slink
• stroll
• tramp