What does howler mean?
A howler is, literally, something that howls: a person or animal that makes a loud, prolonged cry. The word can describe someone who laughs or complains loudly, or an animal such as a wolf or dog. In informal English, however, it more often means a glaring mistake, an absurd performance, or a spectacular failure. This meaning is especially common in American usage, as in calling an ill-judged play, a poorly made film, or an embarrassing blunder a “real howler.” The term can be affectionate or humorous when the failure is so exaggerated that it becomes entertaining, but it is generally critical when referring to an actual mistake. The word combines the root “howl” with the agent suffix “-er,” a productive pattern in English for words describing performers of an action, such as “runner” or “builder.”
nounA person or animal that howls, especially a person who laughs loudly or painfully. In informal usage, a howler can also mean a glaring mistake, an absurd performance, or an unusually spectacular failure.
- A person or animal that howls, especially one that produces a loud, prolonged cry.
- An informal term for a glaring mistake, an absurd performance, or a spectacular failure.
"The comedy scene was such a howler that the audience could barely hear the punch line."
"A howler echoed through the forest as the wolves called to one another."
"That goal was an absolute howler, sending the ball into the wrong side of the net."
The plural is “howlers.”
"The film contains several memorable howlers, including the disastrous opening scene."
One howler can mean the noise of an animal, a burst of uninhibited laughter, or a mistake so spectacular that it deserves its own category.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does howler come from?
“Howler” is formed within English from “howl” plus the agent suffix “-er,” meaning a person or thing that performs the action. The verb “howl” is inherited from Old English “hugol,” an imitation of a deep, prolonged cry, and is related to similar words in other Germanic languages. The noun “howler” developed in English in the literal sense of one that howls; its figurative sense for a conspicuous mistake or failure arose later in informal usage.
Related word forms
How howler is actually used
The second sense is informal and usually disparaging, especially in American English. It can refer to an error, a performance, or a failure that is so obvious or extreme that it seems almost comic.
Easily confused with howler
A howl is the sound itself or the action of making that sound, whereas a howler is a person or animal that produces it; informally, a howler is also a serious mistake or disastrous performance.