prowler

From prowl +‎ -er.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹaʊlɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹaʊlə/
• Rhymes: -aʊlə(ɹ)

prowler (plural prowlers)

1. One who roves about for prey; one who prowls.
   • 1922, Michael Arlen, “1/1/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days‎^[1]:

     House Prees and Bloods […] were everywhere to be seen in earnest colloquy. For the matter was, that there was some sort of night-prowler about the school grounds.

2. A person who moves stealthily around a place with intention to commit a crime, especially burglary or theft.
   • 2008 January 11, “What to put between you and burglars”, in CNN‎^[2]:

     Discourage nighttime prowlers by installing motion-sensitive lights.

   • 2024 July 24, Emma Tucker and Bill Kirkos, “What we know about the deputy charged with killing Sonya Massey in her home after she called 911 for help”, in CNN‎^[3]:

     “I was under the impression that a prowler had broken in and killed my baby. Never did they say that it was a deputy-involved shooting until my brother read it on the internet,” Wilburn said.

• “prowler”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.