prowl

[proul]

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verb (used without object)

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

verb (used with object)

to rove over or through in search of what may be found: The cat prowled the alleys in search of food.

noun

act of prowling.

Idioms

on the prowl, in the act of prowling; searching stealthily: The cat is on the prowl for mice.

Origin of prowl

1350–1400; Middle English prollen < ?

Related formsprowl·ing·ly, adverbun·prowl·ing, adjective

Synonyms for prowl

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1. roam. See lurk.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for prowling

skulk, slink, lurk, tramp, stroll, roam, scavenge, patrol, hunt, sneak, range, stalk, snake, rove, cruise, steal

Examples from the Web for prowling

Contemporary Examples of prowling

Austin takes on the bulk of the physical scouting, prowling the streets in search of interesting sites.
A Most Illegal Adventure with New York City’s Wildest Underground Event Planners
Nina Strochlic
December 16, 2013
Undoubtedly his committee's investigators are still out there prowling around.
IRS "Scandal" Is Over, Public Thinks It's Growing
Michael Tomasky
June 19, 2013

Historical Examples of prowling

It was Del-phin, very gay, walking on all fours, prowling behind her like a wolf.
The Fte At Coqueville
Emile Zola
Not for a moment did he doubt what was the quarry of this prowling gendarmerie.
Scaramouche
Rafael Sabatini
It was less than three minutes since the prowling brigands had been seen.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, June, 1930
Various
All of which had nothing to do with why I was prowling around the Ludmilla—or did it?
One-Shot
James Benjamin Blish
In prowling around he had unexpectedly come upon the three men.
Pathfinder
Alan Douglas

British Dictionary definitions for prowling

prowl

verb

(when intr, often foll by around or about) to move stealthily around (a place) as if in search of prey or plunder

noun

the act of prowling
on the prowl
1. moving around stealthily
2. zealously pursuing members of the opposite sex

Derived Formsprowler, noun

Word Origin for prowl

C14 prollen, of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for prowling

mid-15c., verbal noun from prowl (v.).

prowl

late 14c., prollen, "move about in search of something," of unknown origin, with no known cognates. Spelling with -w- is from 1500s (cf. bowl), but pronounced "prôll" till late 18c. Meaning "go stealthily in search of prey" is first recorded 1580s. Related: Prowled; prowling. The noun, in on the prowl, is attested from 1803.