howl at (someone or something)
1. Of an animal, to make a howling sound at someone or something. Oh geez, the dog's howling at a raccoon or something in the bushes. A: "The dog keeps howling at me like that." B: "OK, I can see why you're worried he's in pain." Oh boy, the stray cats are out there howling at each other again.
2. To laugh uproariously at someone or something. His opening monologue went really well—the audience howled at every joke. Oh my gosh, we were all howling at your uncle's hilarious stories. It makes me happy to hear my kids howl at the slapstick of The Three Stooges.
3. To yell at someone or something. Mom really howled at me when she found out that I got a D in biology this semester. The science teacher howled at us for not doing our homework. Aw man, if I'm late again, the boss is definitely going to howl at me about it.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
howl at someone or something
1. Lit. [for a canine] to bay at someone or something. The dog howls at me when I play the trumpet. The wolves howled at the moon and created a terrible uproar.
2. and hoot at someone or something Fig. to yell out at someone or something. The audience howled at the actors and upset them greatly. We hooted at the singer until he stopped.
3. Fig. to laugh very hard at someone or something. Everyone just howled at Tom's joke. I howled at the story Alice told.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.