bowstring

American  

[boh-string] / ˈboʊˌstrɪŋ /

noun

1. the string of an archer's bow.

2. a string, typically of horsehair, for the bow of an instrument of the violin and viol families.

3. (especially in the Ottoman Empire) a similar string for killing people by strangulation.

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verb (used with object)

bowstringed, bowstrung, bowstringing

1. to strangle with a bowstring or any string or band.

bowstring British  

/ ˈbəʊˌstrɪŋ /

noun

1. the string of an archer's bow, usually consisting of three strands of hemp

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Etymology

Origin of bowstring

First recorded in 1350–1400, bowstring is from Middle English bowe streng. See bow ², string

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bowstring bowstringing bowstrung

Loading the arrow with the toes of his right foot, he leans forward to latch the bowstring with a hook attached to his right shoulder.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2024

Handle feelings at such length and at such bowstring pitch and they tend to go fetid.

From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 2021

Roth’s skills as narrator are everywhere as taut as a bowstring with its arrow poised to fly.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2018

She is one of a small number of archers who use a rectangular nylon mouth tab to pull back the bowstring — no small feat for the teen.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 10, 2017

The bowstring quivered in her hand, and she lifted the tip of her arrow slightly.

From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas

"You rascally old villain! you deserve bowstringing for this," cried Mole.

From Jack Harkaway's Boy Tinker Among The Turks Book Number Fifteen in the Jack Harkaway Series by Hemyng, Bracebridge

"We shall all be bowstrung if his excellency thinks us wanting in respect."

From Jack Harkaway's Boy Tinker Among The Turks Book Number Fifteen in the Jack Harkaway Series by Hemyng, Bracebridge

Though she was not giving way before him, her attitude, in its steadiness, reflected distress in a bowstrung tremulousness.

From Over the Pass by Palmer, Frederick