prowled; prowling; prowls
: to move about or wander stealthily in or as if in search of prey
: to roam over in a predatory manner
Phrases
on the prowl
: in the act of prowling
also
: in search of something
his fourth wife had just left him, and he was on the prowl again —
Mary McCarthy
Mary McCarthy Examples of prowl in a Sentence
Verb
a tiger prowling in the jungle
He moved like a tiger prowling the jungle.
The police were prowling the streets in their patrol cars.
He liked to prowl the streets late at night.
I prowled the store looking for sales.
I prowled through the store looking for sales.
Noun
a prowl through the bookshop
Recent Examples on the Web
Jeanine Barone, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Rescuers fought to save an entangled humpback whale off the coast of South Africa — in a mission complicated by prowling orcas and a protective whale pod.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2025
Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2025
Just 36 hours before Florida’s new DOGE team arrived in Broward County on the prowl for questionable local government spending, North Lauderdale city commissioners pondered a spending issue — and voted to triple their own salaries, to $57,094 a year.
—Anthony Man, Miami Herald, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prowl
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Verb
Art aficionados will enjoy prowling around the building snuggled in this park that houses The Burrell Collection.
—Jeanine Barone, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Rescuers fought to save an entangled humpback whale off the coast of South Africa — in a mission complicated by prowling orcas and a protective whale pod.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2025
Noun
Its staff is on the prowl for fraud but it isn’t made up of cybersecurity experts, noted Whiting.
—Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2025
Just 36 hours before Florida’s new DOGE team arrived in Broward County on the prowl for questionable local government spending, North Lauderdale city commissioners pondered a spending issue — and voted to triple their own salaries, to $57,094 a year.
—Anthony Man, Miami Herald, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prowl
Cite this Entry
“Prowl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prowl. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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