bow tie

American  

[boh] / boʊ /

noun

• bow ties
  plural

1. a small necktie tied in a bow at the collar.

2. a sweet roll or Danish pastry having a shape similar to that of a bow tie or butterfly.

---

bow tie British  

/ bəʊ /

noun

1. a man's tie tied in a bow, now chiefly in plain black for formal evening wear

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• bow ties
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of bow tie

First recorded in 1910–15

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bow tie

The only thing missing, really, was my nervous waiter in the bow tie.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

No less than the staid bow tie baseball chronicler Ken Rosenthal described the Red Sox under Henry as “incoherent, dysfunctional and forever poised to overreact.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026

Bad Bunny went for a classic tux and bow tie.

From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2026

Dressed in a red bow tie and holding a poster reading "I want to get married", Bazhanov caught the eye of the longtime ruler and got his chance.

From Barron's ● Dec. 19, 2025

The best was the balding guy in a plaid suit jacket, dark jeans, and shiny red sneakers that matched his bow tie.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---