OWL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does owl mean? 

• OWL (noun)
  The noun OWL has 1 sense:

1. nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes

  Familiarity information: OWL used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OWL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

bird of Minerva; bird of night; hooter; owl

Hypernyms ("owl" is a kind of...):

bird of prey; raptor; raptorial bird (any of numerous carnivorous birds that hunt and kill other animals)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "owl"):

owlet (young owl)

Athene noctua; little owl (small European owl)

horned owl (large owls having prominent ear tufts)

great gray owl; great grey owl; Strix nebulosa (large dish-faced owl of northern North America and western Eurasia)

Strix aluco; tawny owl (reddish-brown European owl having a round head with black eyes)

barred owl; Strix varia (large owl of eastern North America having its breast and abdomen streaked with brown)

Otus asio; screech owl (small North American owl having hornlike tufts of feathers whose call sounds like a quavering whistle)

screech owl (any owl that has a screeching cry)

scops owl (any of several small owls having ear tufts and a whistling call)

spotted owl; Strix occidentalis (a large owl of North America found in forests from British Columbia to central Mexico; has dark brown plumage and a heavily spotted chest)

hoot owl (any owl that hoots as distinct from screeching)

hawk owl; Surnia ulula (grey-and-white diurnal hawk-like owl of northern parts of the northern hemisphere)

Asio otus; long-eared owl (slender European owl of coniferous forests with long ear tufts)

laughing jackass; laughing owl; Sceloglaux albifacies (almost extinct owl of New Zealand)

barn owl; Tyto alba (mottled buff and white owl often inhabiting barns and other structures; important in rodent control)

Holonyms ("owl" is a member of...):

order Strigiformes; Strigiformes (owls)

Derivation:

owlet (young owl)

 Context examples 

There warn't nothing for them to 'owl at. There warn't no one near, except some one that was evidently a-callin' a dog somewheres out back of the gardings in the Park road.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

“I lead the life of an owl.”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

“Clumsy fellows,” said I; “they must still be drunk as owls.”

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

And the birds of the air came too, and bemoaned Snowdrop; and first of all came an owl, and then a raven, and at last a dove, and sat by her side.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

I dreamt another dream, sir: that Thornfield Hall was a dreary ruin, the retreat of bats and owls.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Owls are known for silent flight, owing to their unique wing features, which are normally characterized by leading-edge serrations, trailing-edge fringes and velvet-like surfaces.

(Owls' Wings Key to Beating Wind Turbine Noise, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

These data were then cross-referenced with decades of field studies showing the locations of hundreds of owl nests.

(Researchers find preserving spotted owl habitat may not require a tradeoff with wildfire risk after all, Wikinews)

“Ha!” he cried, blinking like an owl in the sudden glare.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"An' I bet," Martin dashed on, that he's solemn an' serious as an old owl, an' doesn't care a rap for a good time, for all his thirty thousand a year.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

It reminded me of the great hoot-owl, listening, after its booming cry, for the stir of its frightened prey.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)