bow
1- to bend the knee or body or incline the head, as in reverence, submission, salutation, recognition, or acknowledgment.
- to yield; submit: to bow to the inevitable.
- to bend or curve downward; stoop: the pines bowed low.
- to bend or incline (the knee, body, or head) in worship, submission, respect, civility, agreement, etc.: He bowed his head to the crowd.
- to cause to submit; subdue; crush.
- to cause to stoop or incline: Age had bowed his head.
- to express by a bow: to bow one's thanks.
- to usher (someone) with a bow (usually followed by in, out, etc.): They were bowed in by the footman.
- to cause to bend; make curved or crooked.
- an inclination of the head or body in salutation, assent, thanks, reverence, respect, submission, etc.
- bow out, to resign a position or withdraw from a job, competition, obligation, etc.: He bowed out after two terms as governor.
- bow and scrape, to be excessively polite or deferential.
- make one's bow, to appear publicly for the first time, as a performer, politician, etc.: The young pianist made her bow last night to an appreciative audience.
- take a bow, to step forward or stand up in order to receive recognition, applause, etc.: The conductor had the soloists take a bow.
Origin of bow
1Synonyms for bow
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comSynonym study
bow out
- (adverb; usually tr often foll by of) to retire or withdraw gracefully
bow
1- to lower (one's head) or bend (one's knee or body) as a sign of respect, greeting, assent, or shame
- to bend or cause to bend; incline downwards
- (intr ; usually foll by to or before) to comply or acceptbow to the inevitable
- (tr ; foll by in, out, to etc) to usher (someone) into or out of a place with bows and deferencethe manager bowed us to our car
- (tr; usually foll by down) to bring (a person, nation, etc) to a state of submission
- bow and scrape to behave in an excessively deferential or obsequious way
- a lowering or inclination of the head or body as a mark of respect, greeting, or assent
- take a bow to acknowledge or receive applause or praise
Word Origin for bow
bow
2- a weapon for shooting arrows, consisting of an arch of flexible wood, plastic, metal, etc bent by a string (bowstring) fastened at each endSee also crossbow
- a long slightly curved stick across which are stretched strands of horsehair, used for playing the strings of a violin, viola, cello, or related instrument
- a stroke with such a stick
- a decorative interlacing of ribbon or other fabrics, usually having two loops and two loose ends
- the knot forming such an interlacing; bowknot
- something that is curved, bent, or arched
- (in combination)rainbow; oxbow; saddlebow
- a person who uses a bow and arrow; archer
- US
- a frame of a pair of spectacles
- a sidepiece of the frame of a pair of spectacles that curls round behind the ear
- a metal ring forming the handle of a pair of scissors or of a large old-fashioned key
- architect part of a building curved in the form of a bowSee also bow window
- to form or cause to form a curve or curves
- to make strokes of a bow across (violin strings)
Word Origin for bow
bow
3- mainly nautical
- (often plural)the forward end or part of a vessel
- (as modifier)the bow mooring line
- rowing short for bowman 2
- on the port bow nautical within 45 degrees to the port of straight ahead
- on the starboard bow nautical within 45 degrees to the starboard of straight ahead
- a shot across someone's bows informal a warning
Word Origin for bow
Bow
- Clara, known as the It Girl . 1905–65, US film actress, noted for her vivacity and sex appeal
Word Origin and History for bow out
bow
Old English bugan "to bend, to bow down, to bend the body in condescension," also "to turn back" (class II strong verb; past tense beag, past participle bogen), from Proto-Germanic *bugon (cf. Dutch buigen, Middle Low German bugen, Old High German biogan, German biegen, Gothic biugan "to bend," Old Norse boginn "bent"), from *beugen, from PIE root *bheug- (3) "to bend," with derivatives referring to bent, pliable, or curved objects (cf. Sanskrit bhujati "bends, thrusts aside;" Old High German boug, Old English beag "a ring"). The noun in this sense is first recorded 1650s. Related: Bowed; bowing. Bow out "withdraw" is from 1942.
bow
weapon for shooting arrows, Old English boga "archery bow, arch, rainbow," from Proto-Germanic *bugon (cf. Old Norse bogi, Old Frisian boga, Dutch boog, German Bogen "bow;" see bow (v.)). The sense of "a looped knot" is from 1540s. The musician's bow (1570s) formerly was curved like the archer's. Bowlegged is attested from 1550s.
bow
"front of a ship," mid-14c., from Old Norse bogr or Middle Dutch boech "bow of a ship," literally "shoulder (of an animal)," the connecting notion being "the shoulders of the ship." See bough.
Idioms and Phrases with bow out
bow out
Depart, withdraw, resign, as in After five years as chairman, I felt it was time I bowed out, or We'll have to beat them; they'll never bow out. [First half of 1900s]
bow
In addition to the idioms beginning with bow
- bow and scrape
- bowl of cherries, life is just a
- bowl over
- bow out
also see:
- take a bow
- two strings to one's bow