/how"leuhr/ , n.
1. a person, animal, or thing that howls.
2. Also called howler monkey . any large, prehensile-tailed tropical American monkey of the genus Alouatta, the males of which make a howling noise: some species are endangered.
3. a mistake, esp. an embarrassing one in speech or writing, that evokes laughter; a very humorous mistake or a funny blunder.
4. Informal. something that makes a piercing and often prolonged noise, as an alarm.
[ 1790-1800; HOWL + -ER 1 ]