yowled; yowling; yowls
1
: to utter a loud long cry of grief, pain, or distress : wail
2
: to complain or protest with or as if with yowls
: to express with yowling
: a loud long mournful wail or howl (as of a cat)
Synonyms
Examples of yowl in a Sentence
Verb
The cat was yowling outside.
He was yowling in pain.
Noun
the cat gave a yowl of anger
Recent Examples on the Web
Shelly Tan, Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2023
Laguna Beach responds to hundreds of complaints each year about dogs unnerving residents with loud or persistent barking and yowling.
—Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2023
Often, however, the dead baby returned as a ghost, the zashiki warashi, shaking the walls of the house and yowling.
—Hanya Yanagihara Kyoko Hamada, New York Times, 10 May 2023
There’s also a hungry cat yowling at her, and a wounded pigeon she’s talked into birdsitting, and a day job at an art school.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Apr. 2023
Sophie Bushwick: Or what your cat could possibly be yowling about so early in the morning?
—Sophie Bushwick, Scientific American, 17 Mar. 2023
Nobody does a better cat yowl than me.
—Maureen Dowd, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2023
Why do cats yowl?
—Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 23 July 2022
Some breeds, like Siamese cats, meow and yowl more than others.
—Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 23 July 2022
Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2023
And one common yowl especially entertained him.
—Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2021
Snow's worried yowl sounded from above.
—Autumn Blodgett, Anchorage Daily News, 20 Aug. 2011
The beast screamed a horrifying yowl.
—Jeff Wise, Discover Magazine, 19 May 2010
When the beat dropped, the dance floor let out a collective yowl as the music picked up speed.
—Lily Goldberg, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2022
The cat bites with vehemence and a yowl that communicates even to the unschooled.
—Alexandra Horowitz, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2022
Then, a human yowl cuts through with the urgency of a distress signal.
—New York Times, 27 June 2022
Stop pausing to yowl when a call doesn’t go your way.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 18 May 2022
See More
Verb
Cat jump scares, featuring felines yowling or hiding in a cabinet, peaked in the early 1970s and have since dwindled to nearly nothing.
—Shelly Tan, Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2023
Laguna Beach responds to hundreds of complaints each year about dogs unnerving residents with loud or persistent barking and yowling.
—Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2023
Often, however, the dead baby returned as a ghost, the zashiki warashi, shaking the walls of the house and yowling.
—Hanya Yanagihara Kyoko Hamada, New York Times, 10 May 2023
There’s also a hungry cat yowling at her, and a wounded pigeon she’s talked into birdsitting, and a day job at an art school.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Apr. 2023
Sophie Bushwick: Or what your cat could possibly be yowling about so early in the morning?
—Sophie Bushwick, Scientific American, 17 Mar. 2023
Nobody does a better cat yowl than me.
—Maureen Dowd, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2023
Why do cats yowl?
—Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 23 July 2022
Some breeds, like Siamese cats, meow and yowl more than others.
—Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 23 July 2022
Noun
Ocean’s singing was magnificent: pure one minute, abraded the next, each murmur and yowl vividly captured by Coachella’s incredibly powerful sound system.
—Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2023
And one common yowl especially entertained him.
—Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2021
Snow's worried yowl sounded from above.
—Autumn Blodgett, Anchorage Daily News, 20 Aug. 2011
The beast screamed a horrifying yowl.
—Jeff Wise, Discover Magazine, 19 May 2010
When the beat dropped, the dance floor let out a collective yowl as the music picked up speed.
—Lily Goldberg, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2022
The cat bites with vehemence and a yowl that communicates even to the unschooled.
—Alexandra Horowitz, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2022
Then, a human yowl cuts through with the urgency of a distress signal.
—New York Times, 27 June 2022
Stop pausing to yowl when a call doesn’t go your way.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 18 May 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'yowl.' 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
Verb
Middle English
First Known Use
Verb
13th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of yowl was
in the 13th century
Dictionary Entries Near yowl
Cite this Entry
“Yowl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yowl. Accessed 9 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
yowl
verbˈyau̇(ə)l
: to utter a loud long often mournful cry or howl
the cats were yowling all night
yowl
noun
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