[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/howler/)

[dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [H](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/h/) / howler

# howler

noun (a howler, howlers)

«howler» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (informal) A howler is a silly, obvious mistake, especially a funny one in writing or an exam. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/howler/#m1)
2. A howler is an animal or person that howls, such as a howler monkey. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/howler/#m2)
3. A howler monkey is a large South and Central American monkey with a very loud call. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/howler/#m3)
4. (UK, old-fashioned) A howler was a letter that shouted at its reader; in the Harry Potter books a Howler is a magic red letter that yells. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/howler/#m4)

### In the lessons

In school it means a big, laughable error: writing «the Pacific Ocean is in Paris» is a howler. In science lessons howler monkeys are known as among the loudest land animals, heard kilometres away. In stories a howler can be a ghostly wind or a wolf. Phrases: «make a howler», «a real howler», «howler monkey».

### Examples

- Writing that Shakespeare invented the telephone was a real howler. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/howler/#x1)
- The goalkeeper made a howler and let the ball roll between his legs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/howler/#x2)
- Howler monkeys shout to each other across the rainforest at dawn. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/howler/#x3)
- Our teacher collects the funniest howlers from exam papers. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/howler/#x4)
- The wind was a howler that night, rattling every window. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/howler/#x5)
- Ron got a Howler from his mum, and it screamed at him in the Great Hall. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/howler/#x6)
- Check your answer twice so you don't make a howler. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/howler/#x7)

### Note

Countable: one howler, two howlers. Comes from the verb «howl» (a long loud cry). «Howler» for a mistake is informal but not rude. A howler monkey is a real animal, not a made-up one.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «howler» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/howler/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«howler» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/howler.html) on Mova free.