owl
/aʊ(ə)l/noun
owl is spelled O-W-L: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 7.4 times per million words in written English, the 8,669th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, owl means “Any of various birds of prey of the order Strigiformes, families Strigidae and Tytonidae, that are primarily nocturnal and have forward-looking…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of owl is owls.
How many letters and syllables are in owl?
| Letters | 3: O-W-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 7.4 times per million words; the 8,669th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is owl?
Owl appears 7.4 times per million words in written English, the 8,669th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce owl?
- /aʊ(ə)l/
Owl has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-owl.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with owl?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as owl.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: low.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of owl
- owls plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- owling participle, present
- owled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does owl mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of various birds of prey of the order Strigiformes, families Strigidae and Tytonidae, that are primarily nocturnal and have forward-looking, binocular vision, limited eye movement, and good hearing.
- 2
A person seen as having owl-like characteristics, especially appearing wise or serious, or being nocturnally active.
- 3
An owl pigeon.
- 4
A politician with moderate views that are neither hawkish nor dovish.
- 5
Any of various nymphalid butterflies, especially in the genus Caligo, having large eyespots on the wings.
noun
- 1
Initialism of Older Women's League.
- 2
Initialism of Web Ontology Language (The order of the letters is discussed at Web Ontology Language § Acronym.)
noun
- 1
slangA player or fan of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club.
verb
- 1
archaicTo smuggle contraband goods.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Owl in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense bird:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | hibou, chouette |
| German | Eule, Uhu, Eulenvogel |
| Portuguese | coruja, estrige |
| Spanish | búho, lechuza, tecolote, mochuelo, autillo, cárabo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does owl come from?
From Middle English howle, oul, oule, owle, owlle, from Old English ūle, from Proto-West Germanic *uwwulā, from Proto-Germanic *uwwulǭ (“owl”), diminutive of *uwwǭ (“eagle-owl”), of imitative origin or a variant of *ūfaz, *ūfǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *up- (“to cry out”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).