Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

owling

/ˈaʊ.lɪŋ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: owl-ing
IPA: /ˈaʊ.lɪŋ/

10

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Birding, specifically to catch owls.

Uncountable

noun

The smuggling of sheep or wool out of England.

Uncountable

noun

A variation on planking in which a person is photographed or filmed squatting down in an unusual location.

Uncountable

noun

A small, juvenile, or baby owl; owlet.

Example Sentences

"Planking was soon replaced by owling."
"Owls are extra hungry then, there being a batch of Greatlings or Hornlings or Owlings or whatever Great Horned Owl babies are called sitting on the edge of a nest waiting on Pa and Ma Owl to bring home the bacon."
"Eumeus, who was sitting on the stairs, pointed to the roof of the stable. Perched on its top, huddled together, three owlings were ogling them."
"But the spotted owl isn't at the top of the food chain. Instead, the larger great horned owl will eat spotted owls, owlings, or eggs whenever it can."

Etymology

From owl + -ing. Smuggling of sheep is so called because it was done at night, when owls call.

Word Breakdown

Suffix: owl

Usage

Uncountable

Inflected Forms

owlings (plural) owlling (alternative)

Frequently Paired Words

owler

Questions

How do you pronounce owling?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈaʊ.lɪŋ/.
What does owling mean?: Birding, specifically to catch owls.
Where does owling come from?: From owl + -ing. Smuggling of sheep is so called because it was done at night, when owls call.

How to pronounce owling

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “owling”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈaʊ.lɪŋ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “owling”.
Repeat and practice — Say “owling” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.