: 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 In 2021, the zoo had another incident with a Eurasian eagle owl. Raven Brunner, Peoplemag, 7 Aug. 2024 Seeing that many owls all at once perched in a 50-foot flight cage outside a county building was remarkable. Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2024 Then, toward the end of the video, Lamar stares at a caged owl. Samantha Chery, Washington Post, 5 July 2024 The video then ends with a moody shot of Kendrick Lamar staring down a caged barnyard owl. Marc Griffin, VIBE.com, 5 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for owl 

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.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English owle, from Old English ūle; akin to Old High German uwila owl

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of owl was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near owl

Cite this Entry

“Owl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/owl. Accessed 13 Sep. 2024.

Kids 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

More from Merriam-Webster on owl

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