howled; howling; howls

intransitive verb

1
: to emit a loud sustained doleful sound characteristic of members of the dog family
2
: to cry out loudly and without restraint under strong impulse (such as pain, grief, or amusement)
3
: to go on a spree or rampage

transitive verb

1
: to utter with unrestrained outcry
2
: to drown out or cause to fail by adverse outcry
used especially with down
howl noun

Examples of howl in a Sentence

The dogs were howling at the moon. several coyotes began howling close by as the sun went down
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
The crowd of 60 howled through most of the evening. R. Daniel Foster, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025 The girl howled, writhing in a dark puddle on the ground. Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 14 Apr. 2025 Now, Maegan DePriest crawls into the bed of the truck covered by a camper shell, its fiberglass skin the only barrier separating her from the howling wind outside. Rukmini Callimachi, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025 Seniors who don’t use computers, have no transportation or are too frail to travel to distant Social Security offices for help are howling about losing some telephone services next week. Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 26 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for howl

Word History

Etymology

Middle English houlen; akin to Middle High German hiulen to howl

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of howl was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Howl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/howl. Accessed 2 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

howl

verb
1
: to make a long loud mournful sound like that of a dog
2
: to cry out loudly (as with pain, grief, or amusement)
howled in protest
howling with laughter
3
: to drown out or cause to fail by an outcry
howled down the opposition
howl noun

More from Merriam-Webster on howl

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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