Meaning & use
bowls
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“bowls” is a form of “bowl”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
noununcountable
A game in which players roll heavy balls along a flat grass or indoor surface to get close to a small target ball.
Grammar: Takes a singular verb: Bowls is played outdoors.
Patterns
- play bowls
- a game of bowls
My grandfather plays bowls every Saturday morning at the local club.
Bowls is especially popular in Australia, Britain, and New Zealand.
She took up bowls after she retired and soon joined a team.
nouncountable
Round, open-top containers used for eating, serving, or holding things.
Grammar: Regular plural of 'bowl'; takes a plural verb: The bowls are clean.
Patterns
- a set of bowls
- fill the bowls
Please put the clean bowls back in the cupboard.
We bought a set of ceramic bowls for the kitchen.
The soup bowls are still on the table.
Word forms
| singular | bowl |
|---|
Common combinations
- play bowls
- They play bowls at the club on Sundays.
- a game of bowls
- We watched a game of bowls in the park.
- lawn bowls
- Lawn bowls is played on a flat grass surface.
- indoor bowls
- Indoor bowls is popular during the winter.
- soup bowls
- She stacked the soup bowls on the shelf.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bowling
- A different game in which you roll a ball to knock down pins; use 'bowls' for the game with a small target ball.
Word family
Commonly confused: bowls or bowling?
bowls vs bowling
'Bowls' is the game with a jack and biased balls; 'bowling' usually means ten-pin bowling, where you knock down pins.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'bowls' correctly as the name of a game?
Choose one answer.
As a game name, 'bowls' is uncountable and takes a singular verb, so 'Bowls is played...' is right. The other options treat it as a plural countable noun meaning containers.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bowls”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.