Meaning & use
bowl out
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Meanings
verbtransitivesport
In cricket, to end a batter's innings by hitting the wicket with the ball.
Grammar: Takes an object: bowl out a batter. Often used in the passive: be bowled out.
Patterns
- bowl out someone
- bowl someone out
- be bowled out by someone
The fast bowler bowled out the opening batter with a swinging delivery.
England were bowled out for 250 in their first innings.
verbtransitivesport
To dismiss an entire team by taking all their wickets.
Grammar: Takes an object: bowl out a team. Usually passive: be bowled out.
Patterns
- bowl out a team
- be bowled out for a score
Australia bowled out India for just 150 runs.
The visitors were bowled out before lunch on the second day.
Word forms
| third person singular | bowls out |
|---|---|
| past tense | bowled out |
| past participle | bowled out |
| -ing form | bowling out |
Common combinations
- bowl out a batter
- The spinner bowled out the batter with a googly.
- be bowled out for
- New Zealand were bowled out for 180.
- bowl out a team
- They bowled out the opposition in under a day.
- bowl someone out
- He bowled out the captain with a yorker.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dismiss
- A more general cricket term meaning to end a batter's innings in any way, not just by hitting the wicket.
- take a wicket
- Focuses on the bowler's success rather than the method; 'bowl out' specifically means hitting the wicket.
Word family
- bowler noun
- The player who bowls the ball.
- bowling noun
- The action or skill of bowling.
Commonly confused: bowl out or bowl over?
bowl out vs bowl over
Means to knock someone to the ground or to surprise them greatly, not a cricket dismissal.
Practice
In cricket, what does it mean if a batter is 'bowled out'?
Choose one answer.
'Bowled out' means the ball from the bowler hit the wicket and the batter is dismissed. Option A describes hitting a six, option C is a warning, and option D is scoring 100 runs.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bowl out”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.