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cowl

noun · verb

Simple meaning

Thin protective covering; also, monk's hood.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

kowl
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈkaʊl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A thin protective covering over all or part of an engine; also cowling.

  2. Protective covering consisting of a metal part that covers the engine

  3. A monk's hood that can be pulled forward to cover the face; a robe with such a hood attached to it.

  4. metonymic

    A monk.

  5. A usually hood-shaped covering used to increase the draft of a chimney and prevent backflow.

  6. A mask that covers the majority of the head.

verb

  1. transitive

    To make a monk of (a person).

  2. Cover with or as with a cowl

    “Cowl the boys and veil the girls.”

  3. To wrap or form (something made of fabric) like a cowl.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Rare
Formality
Technical

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A monk's hood that can be pulled forward to cover the face; a robe with such a hood attached to it.

Used this way, cowl is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Thin / protective

engine cowl

Caul

cowl neck

Ship's

miss cowl

Other combinations

white cowlcowl flapsblack cowlcowl lipcowl panel

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • cowl musclenounCompound term

    Either of two flat triangular muscles of the shoulder and upper back that are involved in moving the shoulders and arms.

  • friar's-cowlnounCompound term

    Tuberous perennial having a cowl-shaped maroon or violet-black spathe.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: thin protective covering over all

hood

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.