: any of an order (Strigiformes) of chiefly nocturnal birds of prey with a large head and eyes, short hooked bill, strong talons, and soft fluffy often brown-mottled plumage
Examples of owl in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Avian flu is a type A influenza virus that originated in birds and has been detected in more than a hundred species like seagulls, owls and ducks in the US since 2022.
—
Carma Hassan, CNN, 1 Apr. 2024
Read Next National Will killing 500,000 owls help similar species?
—Lauren Liebhaber, Kansas City Star, 29 Mar. 2024
The herpesvirus in question can be carried by healthy pigeons but may cause fatal disease in birds of prey, including owls that become infected by eating pigeons, the society said.
—Ed Shanahan, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2024
Activists intervene on the owls’ behalf Portman spends a lot of her time teaching Californians how to apply the California Environmental Quality Act to protect burrowing owls.
—Jireh Deng, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024
Tawny owls commonly occur in woodlands across all of Europe and into portions of western Siberia.
—Grrlscientist, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
For Wohl, releasing the owls back into the wild is the best part of her job.
—Emily Alvarenga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Feb. 2024
Andrew Maas, with New York City Audubon, told CBS News, there's worry the owl could ingest poison while munching on the city's rats.
—Sarah Al-Arshani, USA TODAY, 5 Feb. 2024
Farther down the hall from the small birds is the raptors’ room, which on this particular day was home to a partridge, a crow, a buzzard, an owl and a greenfinch — all kept in separate, locker-sized cages.
—Jess McHugh, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024
Carma Hassan, CNN, 1 Apr. 2024
Read Next National Will killing 500,000 owls help similar species?
—Lauren Liebhaber, Kansas City Star, 29 Mar. 2024
The herpesvirus in question can be carried by healthy pigeons but may cause fatal disease in birds of prey, including owls that become infected by eating pigeons, the society said.
—Ed Shanahan, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2024
Activists intervene on the owls’ behalf Portman spends a lot of her time teaching Californians how to apply the California Environmental Quality Act to protect burrowing owls.
—Jireh Deng, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024
Tawny owls commonly occur in woodlands across all of Europe and into portions of western Siberia.
—Grrlscientist, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
For Wohl, releasing the owls back into the wild is the best part of her job.
—Emily Alvarenga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Feb. 2024
Andrew Maas, with New York City Audubon, told CBS News, there's worry the owl could ingest poison while munching on the city's rats.
—Sarah Al-Arshani, USA TODAY, 5 Feb. 2024
Farther down the hall from the small birds is the raptors’ room, which on this particular day was home to a partridge, a crow, a buzzard, an owl and a greenfinch — all kept in separate, locker-sized cages.
—Jess McHugh, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'owl.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near owl
Cite this Entry
“Owl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/owl. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
owl
noun
: any of an order of birds of prey that are active mainly at night and that have a broad head, very large eyes, and a powerful hooked beak and claws
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