Meaning & use
bow
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Meanings
verbintransitive
To lower your head or bend your body forward to show respect, greet someone or thank an audience.
Grammar: No object: she bowed; often followed to or before.
Patterns
- bow to someone
- bow before someone
- bow your head
The pianist bowed to the applauding audience.
He bowed politely when he met the elderly guest.
Everyone bowed their heads in silence.
verbintransitivefigurative
To give in to pressure or authority.
Grammar: Usually bow to: bow to pressure.
Patterns
- bow to something
- bow under something
The company bowed to public pressure and cut its prices.
She refused to bow to his demands.
The mayor finally bowed to criticism.
nouncountable
A forward bend of the body or head as a gesture of respect or thanks.
Grammar: Pronounced to rhyme with cow.
Patterns
- take a bow
- make a bow
The actors took a bow at the end of the play.
He gave a small bow and left the room.
She made a deep bow before the king.
nouncountable
A weapon made from a curved strip and a tight string, used for shooting arrows.
Grammar: Pronounced to rhyme with go.
Patterns
- a bow and arrow
- draw a bow
The archer drew her bow and took aim.
He carved a bow from a branch.
They hunted with a bow and arrows.
nouncountable
A knot with two loops and two ends, used to tie ribbons and laces, or a curved stick used to play violins and similar instruments.
Grammar: Pronounced to rhyme with go.
Patterns
- tie a bow
- a violin bow
She tied a red bow on the gift.
His shoelace came out of its bow.
The cellist drew the bow across the strings.
nouncountabletechnical
The front part of a ship.
Grammar: Pronounced to rhyme with cow.
Patterns
- the bow of a ship
Waves splashed over the bow of the boat.
He stood at the bow, looking for land.
The bow struck the dock with a bump.
Word forms
| third person singular | bows |
|---|---|
| past tense | bowed |
| past participle | bowed |
| -ing form | bowing |
| plural | bows |
Common combinations
- take a bow
- The cast took a bow after the final scene.
- bow to pressure
- The council bowed to pressure from residents.
- bow your head
- She bowed her head in prayer.
- bow and arrow
- The children learned archery with a bow and arrow.
- tie a bow
- Can you tie a bow in this ribbon?
- bow out
- The champion decided to bow out after one more season.
Synonyms and how they differ
- nod
- A nod is a smaller, quicker movement of the head than a bow.
- curtsy
- A curtsy is a bending of the knees, traditionally by women, which differs from a bow.
- yield
- Yield means to give way under pressure, with less ceremony than bow.
- submit
- Submit stresses full surrender, while bow to can be milder.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: bow or bough? bow or bowl?
bow vs bough
A bough is a large branch of a tree and sounds the same as bow in the bending sense.
bow vs bowl
A bowl is a round dish, and is spelled and pronounced differently.
Practice
Which meaning of bow rhymes with go?
Choose one answer.
The weapon sense is pronounced to rhyme with go, as is the ribbon knot. The bending sense, the ship's front and giving in all rhyme with cow.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bow”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.