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View synonyms for prowl

prowl

[ proul ]

verb (used without object)

  1. to rove or go about stealthily, as in search of prey, something to steal, etc.

    Synonyms: roam



verb (used with object)

  1. to rove over or through in search of what may be found:

    The cat prowled the alleys in search of food.

noun

  1. act of prowling.

prowl

/ praʊl /

verb

  1. whenintr, often foll by around or about to move stealthily around (a place) as if in search of prey or plunder


noun

  1. the act of prowling
  2. on the prowl
    on the prowl
    1. moving around stealthily
    2. zealously pursuing members of the opposite sex

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Derived Forms

  • ˈprowler, noun

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Other Words From

  • prowling·ly adverb
  • un·prowling adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of prowl1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English prollen; origin uncertain

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Word History and Origins

Origin of prowl1

C14 prollen, of unknown origin

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. on the prowl, in the act of prowling; searching stealthily:

    The cat is on the prowl for mice.

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Synonym Study

See lurk.

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Example Sentences

I found myself longing to learn more about Sophie’s callous roommate, her wealthy British boyfriend or Jesse’s sister, out on the prowl after divorcing her wife.

From Time

There’s yet another covid-19 variant on the prowl and it’s got scientists worried.

From Quartz

With hibernation approaching, many are on the prowl for calorie-rich foods that can help them build up fat and energy for a long winter’s snooze.

Cooke describes Joplin as being “always on the prowl and vocal about it.”

Owners prowl around wealthy suburbs announcing themselves as wealthy, carbon-free, early adopters with money to burn.

Is John Galliano on the prowl for redemption against his former employer, LVMH?

Who, when on the prowl at a bar, likes to say, “Oh, I work in the EOB”?

This was a fundraiser for the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, Calif., and they were on the prowl.

We'll be watched every minute of the time that we prowl around those painted rocks; that's a cinch.

These unkempt-looking Father Times and Methuselahs prowl about the staircases of the different ateliers daily.

He caught a down car and got out just as the first prowl car came sirening its way into the side street curb.

These persons prowl about among the farms and villages begging for work in the name of charity.

Natives are not wont to prowl about after dark with no apparent object, especially alone.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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