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View synonyms for

owl

[ oul ]

noun

  1. any of numerous, chiefly nocturnal birds of prey, of the order Strigiformes, having a broad head with large, forward-directed eyes that are usually surrounded by disks of modified feathers: many populations are diminishing owing to loss of habitat.
  2. one of a breed of domestic pigeons having an owllike appearance.
  3. a person of owllike solemnity or appearance.


adjective

  1. operating late at night or all night:

    an owl train.

owl

/ ʊ /

noun

  1. any nocturnal bird of prey of the order Strigiformes, having large front-facing eyes, a small hooked bill, soft feathers, and a short neck
  2. any of various breeds of owl-like fancy domestic pigeon (esp the African owl, Chinese owl, and English owl )
  3. a person who looks or behaves like an owl, esp in having a solemn manner
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈǷɱ-ˌ, adjective
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Other Word Forms

  • Ƿɱl adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of owl1

before 900; Middle English oule, Old English ū; cognate with Low German ū, Dutch uil; akin to German Eule, Old Norse ugla
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Word History and Origins

Origin of owl1

Old English ū; related to Dutch uil, Old High German ūɾ, Old Norse ugla
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Idioms and Phrases

see night owl .
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Aside from curlew, they pose a threat to a number of native species including the Orkney vole, short-eared owl and hen harrier.

From

According to Greenwald, the previous definition prevented acts like cutting down swaths of old-growth forests in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest where federally threatened northern spotted owls nest and roost.

From

"At night you've got the foxes and owls and all the rest of it. I love that."

From

When I worked on an England game with John Murray for BBC Radio 5 Live last month, he said that in Brazil they call it 'where the owls sleep'.

From

"You need to figure out who are the night owls and who are the morning larks. It is no good putting people in at the opposite end of the scale."

From

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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.

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