: 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 Farther down the hall from the small birds is the raptors’ room, which on this particular day was home to a partridge, a crow, a buzzard, an owl and a greenfinch — all kept in separate, locker-sized cages. Jess McHugh, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024 Hawks and owls prey on rodents bounding across grassy slopes. Louis Sahagún, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024 Per The Washington Post, the Central Park Zoo released its own statement about Flaco's death, expressing its desire to bring the person who vandalized the owl's cage to justice. Esme Mazzeo, Peoplemag, 25 Feb. 2024 The team is further testing the recognition of familiar human voices in snakes and owls, to see how well reptiles and birds can recognize voices. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 15 Feb. 2024 Admission includes entry to Riverbanks Farm (cows, goats, alpaca, owls). John Bordsen, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024 After Flaco escaped, zoo staff tried to recover the owl. Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024 According to the necropsy report released Saturday, the owl weighed 1.89 kilograms (4.1 pounds), just 2% less than when he was last measured at the zoo. Cedar Attanasio, Fortune, 25 Feb. 2024 However, in February 2023, a still-unknown person cut the mesh of Flaco’s enclosure, allowing the owl to escape. Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 24 Feb. 2024

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 19 Mar. 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

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