bowery

[ bou-uh-ree ]

/ ˈbaʊ ə ri /

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See synonyms for bowery on Thesaurus.com

adjective

containing bowers; leafy; shady: a bowery maze.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of bowery

First recorded in 1695–1705; bower¹ + -y¹

Words nearby bowery

bowenite, Bowen's reaction series, bower, bowerbird, Bowers, bowery, bowfin, bow front, bowgrace, bow hand, bowhead

Other definitions for bowery (2 of 2)

bowery²

[ bou-uh-ree, bou-ree ]

/ ˈbaʊ ə ri, ˈbaʊ ri /

noun, plural bow·er·ies.

(among the Dutch settlers of New York) a farm or country seat.

the Bowery, a street and area in New York City, historically noted for its cheap hotels and saloons, and populated by people who were destitute and homeless.

Origin of bowery

An Americanism dating back to 1640–50; from Dutch bouwerij “farm,” equivalent to bouw “cultivation” + -erij -ery

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bowery in a sentence

Kigurumi, Dollers and How We See is on display at Salon 94 Bowery through April 28.
A Doll’s Life: Laurie Simmons Explores Kigurumi|Ann Binlot|March 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Chu and Associates were planning to build a 20-story, 220 room hotel at 50-52 Bowery near the Manhattan Bridge.
Is This the Tavern Where Washington Drank After Beating the British?|William Bryk|November 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Photos by the late Jimmy DeSana are now on view at Salon 94 on the Bowery in New York.
That Ol' New Wave|Blake Gopnik|August 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Since the New Museum opened on the Bowery in late 2007, a steady stream of galleries have set up shop on the Lower East Side.
Max Fish, Lost At Sea|Joshua David Stein|July 17, 2010|DAILY BEAST

Then she went to meet Beckman at the Bowery Hotel for breakfast and liked him immediately.
Can Janice Min Conquer Hollywood?|Jacob Bernstein|May 27, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Shoulders raised, heads bent, and shivering, we keep on to the lower Bowery.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist|Alexander Berkman
Snipes came up and helped him down and out, and the old man and the boy walked slowly and in silence out to the Bowery.
Gallegher and Other Stories|Richard Harding Davis
The Bowery is crowded with a cosmopolitan horde which is never still.
American Sketches|Charles Whibley
His little black eyes travel further and faster than his legs, and rove up and down and across the Bowery ceaselessly.
Tin-Types Taken in the Streets of New York|Lemuel Ely Quigg
It was easy to see, as Mr. Ricketty wandered aimlessly down the Bowery, that his humor was entirely amiable.
Tin-Types Taken in the Streets of New York|Lemuel Ely Quigg

British Dictionary definitions for bowery

Bowery

/ (ˈbaʊərɪ) /

noun

the Bowery a street in New York City noted for its cheap hotels and bars, frequented by vagrants and drunks

Word Origin for Bowery

C17: from Dutch bouwerij, from bouwen to farm + erij -ery; see boor, Boer

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for bowery

Bowery

A section of lower Manhattan in New York City.

bowery

Origin of bowery

Words nearby bowery

Other definitions for bowery (2 of 2)

Origin of bowery

Words related to bowery

How to use bowery in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bowery

Word Origin for Bowery

Cultural definitions for bowery