Adjacent Words

Prowl definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PROWL, v.t. [I know not the origin of this word, nor from what source it is derived. It may be derived from the root of stroll, troll, with a different prefix.] To rove over.
He prowls each place, still in new colors deck'd.
PROWL, v.i. To rove or wander, particularly for prey, as a wild
beast; as a prowling wolf.
1. To rove and plunder; to prey; to plunder.
PROWL, n. A roving for prey; colloquially, something to be seized and devoured.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the act of prowling (walking about in a stealthy manner) v
1: move about in or as if in a predatory manner; "The suspicious stranger prowls the streets of the town"
2: loiter about, with no apparent aim [syn: prowl, lurch]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb Etymology: Middle English prollen Date: 14th century intransitive verb to move about or wander stealthily in or as if in search of prey transitive verb to roam over in a predatory manner • prowler noun II. noun Date: 1803 an act or instance of prowling

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 tr. roam (a place) in search or as if in search of prey, plunder, etc. 2 intr. (often foll. by about, around) move about like a hunter. --n. the act or an instance of prowling. Phrases and idioms: on the prowl moving about secretively or rapaciously, esp. in search of sexual contact etc. prowl car US a police squad car. Derivatives: prowler n. Etymology: ME prolle, of unkn. orig.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Prowl Prowl, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Prowled; p. pr. & vb. n. Prowling.] [OE. prollen to search about; of uncertain origin, perh. for proglen, a dim. of prog to beg, or proke to poke. Cf. Proke.] 1. To rove over, through, or about in a stealthy manner; esp., to search in, as for prey or booty. He prowls each place, still in new colors decked. -- Sir P. Sidney. 2. To collect by plunder; as, to prowl money. [Obs.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Prowl Prowl, v. i. To rove or wander stealthily, esp. for prey, as a wild beast; hence, to prey; to plunder.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Prowl Prowl, n. The act of prowling. [Colloq.] --Smart.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(prowls, prowling, prowled) 1. If an animal or a person prowls around, they move around quietly, for example when they are hunting. Policemen prowled around the building. VERB: V prep/adv 2. If an animal is on the prowl, it is hunting. If a person is on the prowl, they are hunting for something such as a sexual partner or a business deal. Their fellow travellers are a mix of honeymooners, single girls on the prowl and elderly couples... The new administration are on the prowl for ways to reduce spending. PHRASE: v-link PHR, oft PHR for n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. n. 1. Rove, roam, wander. 2. Prey, plunder.

Moby Thesaurus

bat around, bum, clandestine behavior, clandestinity, couch, count ties, cover, covertness, crawl, creep, cruise, divagate, drift, flit, furtiveness, gad, gad about, gallivant, go about, go on tiptoe, go the rounds, grovel, gumshoe, hit the road, hit the trail, hobo, hunting, inch, inch along, jaunt, knock about, knock around, lay wait, lie in wait, lurk, meander, mooch, nightwalk, nomadize, pad, patrol, peregrinate, pererrate, prowling, pussyfoot, ramble, range, range over, roam, rove, run about, saunter, scavenge, scour, scrabble, scramble, searching, seeking, shadow, shiftiness, sidle, skulk, slink, slinkiness, slyness, snake, sneak, sneakiness, stalk, stalking, steal, steal along, stealth, stealthiness, straggle, stray, stroll, surreptitiousness, tippytoe, tiptoe, tracking, traipse, tramp, underground activity, underhand dealing, vagabond, vagabondize, walk the tracks, wander, wayfare, worm, worm along