: 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
It is not known how the owl ended up in the concrete mixer.
—
Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 22 Nov. 2025
The Eastern Screech owl is a common sight in the eastern half of the United States.
—Neal Riley, CBS News, 21 Nov. 2025
The owl moved back to his preferred tree in the little nightingale’s absence.
—Hazlitt, 19 Nov. 2025
Barred owls, native to eastern North America, began expanding west around 1900 as human activity altered forests and the Great Plains.
—Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for owl
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 22 Nov. 2025
The Eastern Screech owl is a common sight in the eastern half of the United States.
—Neal Riley, CBS News, 21 Nov. 2025
The owl moved back to his preferred tree in the little nightingale’s absence.
—Hazlitt, 19 Nov. 2025
Barred owls, native to eastern North America, began expanding west around 1900 as human activity altered forests and the Great Plains.
—Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for owl
Cite this Entry
“Owl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/owl. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share