howled; howling; howls

intransitive verb

1
: to emit a loud sustained doleful sound characteristic of members of the dog family
2
: to cry out loudly and without restraint under strong impulse (such as pain, grief, or amusement)
3
: to go on a spree or rampage

transitive verb

1
: to utter with unrestrained outcry
2
: to drown out or cause to fail by adverse outcry
used especially with down
howl noun

Examples of howl in a Sentence

The dogs were howling at the moon. several coyotes began howling close by as the sun went down
Recent Examples on the Web The Padres fans were, instead, the portrait of strength and sportsmanship, roaring and waving yellow towels until finally howling themselves hoarse when Tanner Scott struck out Shohei Ohtani looking in the eighth inning to end the Dodgers’ best last chance. Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2024 John Tufts Indianapolis Star Your inner-werewolf has something to howl about in October when the moon shines its fullest. John Tufts, The Courier-Journal, 7 Oct. 2024 Tallahassee area restaurant owner braces for destruction Tom Llamas Reporting from Panacea, Florida Jon Turner, owner of The Salty Donkey in Panacea, near Tallahassee, was seen packing up his restaurant this afternoon amid pounding rain and howling wind. NBC News, 27 Sep. 2024 Trending on Billboard While the performance exploded into a driving dual-guitar grind, Armstrong took center stage and unleashed her howling vocal attack as the stage flickered with colored effects. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 18 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for howl 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'howl.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English houlen; akin to Middle High German hiulen to howl

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of howl was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near howl

Cite this Entry

“Howl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/howl. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

howl

verb
1
: to make a long loud mournful sound like that of a dog
2
: to cry out loudly (as with pain, grief, or amusement)
howled in protest
howling with laughter
3
: to drown out or cause to fail by an outcry
howled down the opposition
howl noun

More from Merriam-Webster on howl

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