- present participle of howl.
howling
Americanadjective
-
producing or uttering a howling noise.
a howling mob.
-
desolate, dismal, or dreary.
a howling wilderness.
-
Informal. very great; tremendous.
a howling success.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of howling
1250–1300; Middle English houlinge (gerund); see howl, -ing 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We know that some of those mothers are still howling for help.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026
“We heard this howling, whimpering noise and couldn’t figure out where it was coming from,” one of the runners, Jamie Kirk, told The Times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
A star-struck public was howling for his inclusion, blind to the weekly evidence that he was nowhere near the player he used to be.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Desperate, he led his army back across the Delaware River through a howling nor’easter on Christmas night to attack the surprised Hessian garrison at Trenton, N.J.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
As quick as it came, the hum fell away, whisked off by the howling wind of Pain.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
