Meaning & use
bowl
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Meanings
nouncountable
A round, deep dish used for holding food or liquid.
Grammar: Countable: one bowl, two bowls. Often used with 'of': a bowl of soup.
Patterns
- a bowl of something
- in a bowl
- mixing bowl
She poured the cereal into a bowl.
He ate a bowl of rice for lunch.
The salad was served in a large wooden bowl.
nouncountable
The amount that a bowl holds.
Grammar: Countable: a bowl of soup, two bowls of cereal.
Patterns
- a bowl of something
- two bowls of something
I had a bowl of soup for dinner.
He ate two bowls of ice cream.
nounpropersport
A sports game or event, especially in American football, played between top teams.
Grammar: Often capitalized as part of a name: the Super Bowl, the Rose Bowl.
Patterns
- the Super Bowl
- a bowl game
Millions of people watch the Super Bowl every year.
Our team is playing in a bowl game next week.
nouncountablesport
A large, round, open sports stadium or arena.
Grammar: Countable: a bowl, the bowl. Often used in names of stadiums.
Patterns
- a stadium bowl
- the bowl
The concert was held in a huge bowl-shaped stadium.
The fans filled the bowl to watch the championship.
verbtransitive or intransitivesport
To roll a ball in a game, especially in cricket or bowling.
Grammar: Can be used with or without an object: He bowled the ball; He bowls well.
Patterns
- bowl the ball
- bowl a strike
- bowl well
He bowled the ball and knocked down all the pins.
She bowls for her school team.
In cricket, he bowls very fast.
verbintransitiveinformal
To move quickly and smoothly, especially in a vehicle.
Grammar: Often followed by 'along' or 'down': bowl along the road.
Patterns
- bowl along
- bowl down the street
The car bowled along the highway.
We bowled down the hill on our bikes.
Word forms
| plural | bowls |
|---|---|
| third person singular | bowls |
| past tense | bowled |
| past participle | bowled |
| present participle | bowling |
Common combinations
- a bowl of soup
- She ordered a bowl of soup for lunch.
- mixing bowl
- Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl.
- toilet bowl
- He cleaned the toilet bowl.
- bowl game
- The team won their bowl game.
- bowl over
- The news bowled me over.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- bowling noun
- The game of rolling a ball to knock down pins.
- bowler noun
- A person who bowls in cricket or bowling.
Commonly confused: bowl or bowel? bowl or bow?
bowl vs bowel
A part of the body (intestines). 'Bowl' is the dish; 'bowel' is the organ.
bowl vs bow
To bend forward, or a ribbon knot. 'Bowl' has a different vowel sound.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'bowl' correctly as a noun?
Choose one answer.
In option B, 'bowl' is a noun meaning a deep dish. Options A, C, and D use 'bowl' as a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bowl”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.