prowl

verb \ ˈprau̇(-ə)l \

|Updated on: 12 Aug 2018

Examples: prowl in a Sentence

Definition of prowl

prowled; prowling; prowls

intransitive verb

: to move about or wander stealthily in or as if in search of prey

transitive verb

: to roam over in a predatory manner

—

prowler

play \ˈprau̇-lər\ noun

See prowl defined for English-language learners

See prowl defined for kids

Examples of prowl in a Sentence

a tiger prowling in the jungle
He moved like a tiger prowling the jungle.
The police were prowling the streets in their patrol cars.
He liked to prowl the streets late at night.
I prowled the store looking for sales.
I prowled through the store looking for sales.

Recent Examples of prowl from the Web

Charges: Loitering or prowling; fraud, impersonation, giving a fake ID to an officer Bond: n/a Release Date: June 28 at 12:51 p.m.

— judith zizzo, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Fraud, money laundering, burglary among recent Delray Beach arrest reports," 3 July 2018
Other celebrities who prowl the red carpets: take note.

— liz raiss, GQ, "Jay-Z Brought His Entire Suit Collection to the "APES**T" Video," 18 June 2018
Any person found guilty of violating any of the loitering and prowling provision can be fined up to $1,000 or imprisoned up to 180 days, or both.

— karen huppertz, ajc, "Suwanee boosts hotels/motel regs, adds loitering/prowling as offense," 23 May 2018
The remaining 500 miles to Houston — terrain prowled by the US Border Patrol as well as state and local police — would set them back another $6,500.

— nicholas kulish, BostonGlobe.com, "Desperation led migrant to face perils, and price, of smuggling," 1 July 2018
In the 1980s and ’90s, these nomads still prowled book stores.

— peter rowe, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Who killed Normal Heights' iconic book store? There's a rogue's gallery of suspects," 4 June 2018
But perhaps the most evocative story is the one behind Caleuche Chasma, which is named after a boat that supposedly prowls the shores off Chile, collecting the dead who ride on the boat forever after.

— john timmer, Ars Technica, "Kubrick and Clarke reunited as mountains on Pluto’s moon Charon," 12 Apr. 2018
Small fishing boats often prowl the placid water leading upriver to the dam, and fly-fisherman can be seen trying their luck along the river's edge at the walk-in fishing area below the ferry.

— scott craven, azcentral, "Lees Ferry: Gateway to Grand Canyon rafting and the Colorado River," 9 July 2018
On an autumn day around 120,000 years ago, in the dense forests of what would come to be Germany, fierce hunters prowled the landscape.

— lorraine boissoneault, Smithsonian, "Neanderthals Hunted in Groups, One More Strike Against the Dumb Brute Myth," 27 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'prowl.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of prowl

Middle English prollen

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First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

See Words from the same year

prowl

noun

Definition of prowl

: an act or instance of prowling

— on the prowl

: in the act of prowling; also : in search of something

his fourth wife had just left him, and he was on the prowl again
—Mary McCarthy

See prowl defined for English-language learners

Examples of prowl in a Sentence

a prowl through the bookshop

Recent Examples of prowl from the Web

VERIZON Verizon, which bought AOL and Yahoo in recent years, could be on the prowl for other entertainment properties.

— mae anderson, chicagotribune.com, "After AT&T-Time Warner win, is Comcast-Fox a done deal?," 13 June 2018
VERIZON Verizon, which bought AOL and Yahoo in recent years, could be on the prowl for other entertainment properties.

— Washington Post, "Comcast offer for Fox expected after favorable AT&T ruling," 12 June 2018
Wavecrest Open Space Preserve In winter, this area on the southern edge of Half Moon Bay is a premier spot for watching raptors on the prowl for rodents like the California vole.

— jill k. robinson, SFChronicle.com, "5 places to spot birds in Half Moon Bay," 12 July 2018
Now, with Russia once again on the prowl, that alliance seems to be at risk in ways that were virtually inconceivable when Latvia joined in 2004.

— marc santora, New York Times, "Trump Derides NATO as ‘Obsolete.’ Baltic Nations See It Much Differently.," 10 July 2018
Mancini took that challenge to a macro level in Cult of Chucky, which saw the killer able to split his soul between multiple host bodies, setting up for a Chucky universe with various dolls on the prowl.

— richard newby, The Hollywood Reporter, "What Could Be Lost with a 'Child's Play' Remake," 5 July 2018
Paris would indeed fall to invading German forces on June 14, 1940, and thieves surely did prowl that dark confusion.

— darran anderson, The Atlantic, "The Cities That Never Existed," 17 June 2018
When the researchers programmed in supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies, the black holes either turned those galaxies into donuts or drifted out from galactic centers like monsters on the prowl.

— natalie wolchover, WIRED, "The Universe Is Not a Simulation, but We Can Now Simulate It," 16 June 2018
Buyout firms are sitting on more than $1 trillion of cash, which poses a challenge with markets near all-time highs and big companies on the prowl for deals of their own.

— dana cimilluca, WSJ, "KKR Nears Deal to Buy Envision Healthcare," 10 June 2018

First Known Use of prowl

1803

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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PROWL Defined for English Language Learners

prowl

verb

Definition of prowl for English Language Learners

of an animal : to move quietly through an area while hunting
: to move through a place or area especially while searching for something often in a quiet or secret way