Meanings
verbhowl at the moon (third-person singular simple present howls at the moon, present participle howling at the moon, simple past and past participle howled at the moon)
present singular third person howls at the moon · participle present howling at the moon · participle past howled at the moon · past howled at the moon
- idiomaticTo spend considerable time and effort fruitlessly in a hopeless endeavor.
Origin
After the stereotypical behaviour of wolves howling at the moon in folklore.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
howl at the moon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/howl%20at%20the%20moon
MLA
“howl at the moon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/howl%20at%20the%20moon. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “howl at the moon,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/howl%20at%20the%20moon.
Source: howl at the moon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.