bow out
Britishverb
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It would be a poetic way to bow out, whether the title is won or not.
From BBC • May 18, 2026
Some lawmakers, seeming to recognize the risks of letting the vagaries of aging and health determine the country’s political fate, have opted to bow out.
From Slate • Apr. 24, 2026
Wiener is also up against Connie Chan, a county supervisor and former Kamala Harris aide—the only major candidate who waited for Pelosi to bow out before opting in.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025
Padilla’s decision to bow out of the 2026 governor’s race will leave a prominent name out of an already crowded contest with many contenders but not a clear favorite.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 4, 2025
The two people who he always knew would put up with his crap had decided to bow out.
From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
