prowler
noun
prowl·er
| \ ˈprau̇-lər
\
\
plural prowlers
Definition of prowler
: a person or animal that prowls
Within a few million years of this major turning point in Earth history, the seas were swarming with myriad forms of life, swimmers, prowlers, sedentary beasts, and burrowers.— Roger Lewin
especially
: a person who moves through an area or place in a quiet and stealthy way in order to commit a crime
There were reports of a prowler in the neighborhood. He felt uneasy being out there by himself. No one ever walked in Linden Hills, and he didn't want to be mistaken for a prowler. — Gloria Naylor … she kills him with a shotgun, claiming that in the dark she mistook him for a prowler. — Lawrence Eisenberg