[bou]
1.
to bend the knee or body or incline the head, as in reverence,submission, salutation, recognition, or acknowledgment.
2.
to yield; submit:
to bow to the inevitable.
3.
to bend or curve downward; stoop:
the pines bowed low.
4.
to bend or incline (the knee, body, or head) in worship, submission,respect, civility, agreement, etc.:
He bowed his head to the crowd.
5.
to cause to submit; subdue; crush.
6.
to cause to stoop or incline:
Age had bowed his head.
7.
to express by a bow:
to bow one's thanks.
8.
to usher (someone) with a bow (usually followed by in, out, etc.):
They were bowed in by the footman.
9.
to cause to bend; make curved or crooked.
10.
an inclination of the head or body in salutation, assent, thanks,reverence, respect, submission, etc.
11.
bow out, to resign a position or withdraw from a job, competition,obligation, etc.:
He bowed out after two terms as governor.
12.
bow and scrape, to be excessively polite or deferential.
13.
make one's bow, to appear publicly for the first time, as a performer,politician, etc.:
The young pianist made her bow last night to an appreciative audience.
14.
take a bow, to step forward or stand up in order to receiverecognition, applause, etc.:
The conductor had the soloists take a bow.
Origin of bow 1
900
Related forms
bowedness, noun
bowingly, adverb
Can be confused
Synonyms
[boh]
1.
a flexible strip of wood or other material, bent by a string stretched between its ends, for shooting arrows:
He drew the bow and sent the arrow to its target.
2.
an instrument resembling this, used for various purposes, as rotating a drill or spindle, or loosening entangled or matted fibers.
3.
a bend or curve.
4.
Also called bowknot. a looped knot composed of two or more loops and two ends, as for tying together the ends of a ribbon or string.
5.
any separate piece of looped, knotted, or shaped gathering of ribbon, cloth, paper, etc., used as a decoration, as on a package, dress, or the like.
6.
a long rod, originally curved but now nearly straight, with horsehairs stretched from one end to the other, used for playing on a musical instrument of the violin and viol families.
7.
a single movement of such a device over the strings of a violin, viol, or the like.
18.
curved outward at the center; bent:
bow legs.
19.
to bend into the form of a bow; curve.
20.
Music. to perform by means of a bow upon a stringed instrument.
21.
Textiles Obsolete. to loosen by passing a vibrating bow among entangled fibers.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English bowe (noun), Old English boga; cognate withDutch boog, German Bogen, Old Norse bogi; akin to bow1
Related forms
bowedness, noun
bowless, adjective
bowlike, adjective
[bou]
1.
Nautical, Aeronautics.
- the forward end of a vessel or airship.
- either side of this forward end, especially with reference to the direction of a distant object:a mooring two points off the port bow.
2.
bows, Nautical. the exterior of the forward end of a vessel, especially one in which the hull slopes back on both sides of the stem.
3.
the foremost oar in rowing a boat.
5.
of or relating to the bow of a ship.
6.
bows on, (of a ship) with the bow foremost:
The vessel approached us bows on.
7.
bows under, (of a ship) shipping water at the bow:
The ship was bows under during most of the storm.
8.
on the bow, Nautical. within 45° to the heading of the vessel.
Origin
Examples from the Web for bow
British Dictionary definitions for bow
bow1
/baÊŠ/
bow2
/bəʊ/
bow3
/baÊŠ/
Bow
/bəʊ/
noun
1.
Clara, known as the It Girl. 1905–65, US film actress, noted for her vivacity and sex appeal
Word Origin and History for bow
v.
n.
Old English bugan "to bend, to bow down, to bend the body incondescension," also "to turn back" (class II strong verb; past tense beag,past participle bogen), from Proto-Germanic *bugon (cf. Dutch buigen,Middle Low German bugen, Old High German biogan, German biegen,Gothic biugan "to bend," Old Norse boginn "bent"), from *beugen, from PIEroot *bheug- (3) "to bend," with derivatives referring to bent, pliable, orcurved objects (cf. Sanskrit bhujati "bends, thrusts aside;" Old High Germanboug, Old English beag "a ring"). The noun in this sense is first recorded1650s. Related: Bowed ; bowing. Bow out "withdraw" is from 1942.
weapon for shooting arrows, Old English boga "archery bow, arch, rainbow,"from Proto-Germanic *bugon (cf. Old Norse bogi, Old Frisian boga, Dutchboog, German Bogen "bow;" see bow (v.)). The sense of "a looped knot" isfrom 1540s. The musician's bow (1570s) formerly was curved like thearcher's. Bowlegged is attested from 1550s.
"front of a ship," mid-14c., from Old Norse bogr or Middle Dutch boech "bowof a ship," literally "shoulder (of an animal)," the connecting notion being"the shoulders of the ship." See bough.
Related Abbreviations for bow
BOW
bag of waters (the amniotic sac in pregnancy)
bow in the Bible
The bow was in use in early times both in war and in the chase (Gen. 21:20; 27:3; 48:22). The tribe of Benjamin were famous for the use of the bow (1 Chr. 8:40; 12:2; 2 Chr. 14:8; 17:17); so also were the Elamites (Isa. 22:6) and the Lydians (Jer. 46:9). The Hebrew word commonly used for bow means properly to tread (1 Chr. 5:18; 8:40), and hence it is concluded that the foot was employed in bending the bow. Bows of steel (correctly "copper") are mentioned (2 Sam. 22:35; Ps. 18:34). The arrows were carried in a quiver (Gen. 27:3; Isa. 22:6; 49:2; Ps. 127:5). They were apparently sometimes shot with some burning material attached to them (Ps. 120:4). The bow is a symbol of victory (Ps. 7:12). It denotes also falsehood, deceit (Ps. 64:3, 4; Hos. 7:16; Jer. 9:3). "The use of the bow" in 2 Sam. 1:18 (A.V.) ought to be "the song of the bow," as in the Revised Version.
Idioms and Phrases with bow
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