‘His howl of pain and anger was the most pleasant sound I could have heard right then.’
‘But the howls of protest grew louder as passengers previously unaware of the changes turned up at stops all over town to find their usual buses were nowhere to be seen.’
‘He has enormous lumps - fatty deposits, I'm told - on each side of his head, and he delivers howls of pain every time he moves, which is rarely.’
‘Ian was greeted by howls of amusement when he got back to the pub.’
‘So, for the time being at least, the company is trying to heal itself, causing howls of pain from unions and workers.’
‘I heard the ensuing howl of pain over the hum and rattle of the printer.’
‘And each night, the howls of pain and horror get closer.’
‘A few howls of pain come from my side of the barricade.’
‘The howls of anger and disagreement were heard far and wide.’
‘Suddenly, more screeches reached his ears and he heard howls of pain.’
‘I covered my ears to try and stop the howls of pain from getting through, but I could still hear them and they hurt.’
‘Aidan's howls of pain drew Tam's attention to them, and she yelled down to them.’
‘There was a howl of pain but it didn't come from me.’
‘There was a hideous howl of pain, and the bed lurched.’
‘There was a howl of pain and one of them skidded away.’
‘A howl of pain told them he'd been killed as well.’
‘She heard something crunch, and then a howl of pain.’
‘It hit them both squarely and they let out a howl of anger.’
‘There were howls from inside, howls, roars, growls, and screams.’
‘Now, at the mere mention of his long-ago battle, Sy uttered a mournful howl, fell to his knees, and covered his head with his skinny arms.’
1.2A prolonged wailing noise such as that made by a strong wind.
‘they listened to the howl of the gale’
‘The cries of the dying mixed with the howl of the wind and the clatter of footsteps to form an unbearable cacophony of insanity that was all but drowned out by my own silent shriek of torment.’
‘The howl of the wind did nothing to drone out the sound of her desperate cry.’
‘The room grew silent and the howl of the midnight wind was the only sound to punctuate the tableau.’
‘Doune thought quietly against the howl of the wind.’
‘‘Thank you,’ she breathed quietly, letting the words be drowned out by the howl of the wind.’
‘Silence enveloped the room again, save for the howl of the winds, muted by several inches of ultra-dense hull plating.’
‘There could be heard around me the gentle snoring of soldiers within their tents sometimes cut by the howl of a bypassing wind from the forest.’
‘At some point he realized the howl of the wind had disappeared.’
‘Outside, the howl of the wind and rain gave their shelter a cold but cozy feel.’
‘His scream pierced right through the howl of the winds, and it made her eyes water with tears.’
‘There was complete silence except for the howl of the wind as it tugged at his clothes and face.’
‘There were no signs of life out here, simply rocks and dust and the howl of the wind.’
‘Realizing that her voice could not be heard above the howl of the wind, she took a deep breath and yelled.’
‘She had to almost yell over the howl of the wind and her voice echoed off of the tall trees around them.’
‘Even in the howl of the gale, the others heard him.’
‘With an eerie howl, the wind kicked up a cloud of dust, and suddenly, a gray figure leapt over Aeslyn, and knocked Adelaide to the ground.’
‘A strong wind came from the west, and its howl could be heard throughout the city as it whipped through dark alleys and tore past cars and people.’
‘The wind's howl didn't seem as penetrating as it'd been when he wandered the days before, and he found the silence rather uncomfortable.’
‘Sudden gasps of hot wind howl through lodges, camps, villages and the woodlands.’
‘The wind picked up and sent howls through the temple that echoed all around me.’
1.3Electronics A wailing noise in a loudspeaker due to feedback.
‘It also makes for a deeply satisfying rush at times, particularly when their sludgy rock pulse is accelerated into viscous gobs of noise or howls of feedback.’
‘The former pits a grinding feedback howl against persistent organs before the organ eventually sputters to a halt, exhausted.’
‘Though the songs have all the jittery energy and dance beats that make bank these days, hooks are absent, replaced by trebly guitar screech and electronic howls.’
‘This will avoid unwelcome howls of feedback and can prevent loudspeaker damage due to switch-on transients.’
‘Upon connecting a 12 volt battery they set up a violent acoustical feedback, the very first PA howl!.’
verb
[no object]
1Make a howling sound.
‘he howled in agony’
‘the wind howled around the house’
‘A wolf howls in the autumn morning, and is joined by three other voices.’
‘Last night, in the full moon, I heard a wolf howl, and this morning I woke up to a dead bear next to my side.’
‘The wind howls outside but you're cosy round a big fire.’
‘In it, the wind howls fiercely, driving rain like stinging knifes in a torrential downpour, so heavy that he can't see more than two feet in front of his face.’
‘She heard the rain slam harder, and the wind howl and whip around the house.’
‘Their mystery deepens at nightfall over the landscape, and as bitter winds howl and shriek in the lonely valleys and impenetrable thickets of tall and spiky trees.’
‘I've never heard the wind howl before, only imagined it when reading a book where it is described as such.’
‘Outside the wind howls, the snow falls, the occasional taxi sweeps past.’
‘Now the wind no longer howls through the shelter.’
‘He placed his other arm around her and listened to the wind howl as the sun shimmered down weakly.’
‘The first man remained and watched the city, listening to the wind howl through its streets.’
‘I curl up in a chair with my own bunch of blankets and listen to the wind howl outside.’
‘How often I have listened to the tempest howl and rave’
‘A gale howls over the hunchback of Cairngorm, stinging our faces with windblown sleet.’
‘Most climbers build snow walls around their tents in an effort to stem the winds that howl across the plateau come nightfall.’
‘I truly do not relish the thought of living under a huge tarpaulin when the west winds howl.’
‘The wind howls through them, stinging them with sleet and ice.’
‘Fuqua's approach is simple: let the music speak, shout and howl for itself.’
‘Finally, a scream of terror howled around the room and echoed off the tiles.’
‘The air around them howled and screeched, twirling around like a maddened whirlpool.’
bay, cry, yowl, bark, yelp
laugh, guffaw, roar, laugh loudly, roar with laughter, dissolve into laughter, be creased up, be doubled up, split one's sides
1.2howl someone downwith objectShout in disapproval in order to prevent a speaker from being heard.
‘they howled me down and called me a chauvinist’
‘When they tried to take advantage of the situation, they were howled down or sacked from their jobs.’
‘A professor was howled down when he suggested some years ago that Australia should pay attention to the numbers, pace and ethnic mix of our migration intake.’
‘McDowell rejected reports of a crowd of people howling him down at last week's Fianna Fail party meeting.’
‘When the German foreign minister made a visionary speech last month about a federal Europe, with a directly elected government and president, he was howled down.’
‘But he was howled down by the majority of parliament.’
‘Last year I was howled down for daring to suggest that a lower-tax economy is better for the country.’
‘At best we will be howled down, written about, excoriated and condemned.’
‘Every time National members and our colleagues in ACT pointed out the dangers of the Local Government Bill, for example, we were howled down as scaremongering.’
‘But when the institution - be it a university or a trade union - makes the point that everyone benefits from their service offer, they are howled down with charges of coercion and compulsion.’
‘Unionists blew trumpets, howled him down, sprayed air freshener at him and staged walkouts to remove the quorum for a meeting.’
Origin
Middle English houle (verb), probably imitative.
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