Meaning & use
owl
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Meanings
nouncountable
A bird with large eyes, a flat face, and a hooked beak that hunts at night.
Grammar: Countable: an owl, two owls, a pair of owls.
Patterns
- an owl hoots
- a species of owl
- a barn owl
An owl hooted in the trees behind the house.
Owls have soft feathers that help them fly quietly.
nouncountablefigurative
A person who stays up late and works or reads at night.
Grammar: Used in the phrase night owl; countable and often with night before it.
Patterns
- a night owl
- be a night owl
My brother is a night owl and never sleeps before midnight.
As a night owl, she does her best writing after dark.
Word forms
| plural | owls |
|---|
Common combinations
- night owl
- He is a night owl who studies until 2 a.m.
- barn owl
- A barn owl flew silently over the field.
- owl hoot
- We heard an owl hoot in the distance.
- wise owl
- The story features a wise owl who gives advice.
- owl pellet
- Students dissected an owl pellet to find small bones.
Synonyms and how they differ
- night bird
- Night bird is a general term for birds active at night; owl is the specific bird.
Word family
- owlet noun
- A young or small owl.
- owlish adjective
- Looking serious and wise, like an owl.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses owl correctly.
Choose one answer.
Owls hoot, so 'hooted' is the natural verb. Barking, neighing, and mooing belong to dogs, horses, and cows.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “owl”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.