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.

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bow tie British  

/ bəʊ /

noun

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

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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

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

I know that sounds super baseball pretentious, like I should be wearing a straw hat and a bow tie, but I don’t care.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026

And veteran director Spike Lee brought a splash of color to his ensemble of muted neutrals with a bright purple hat and bow tie.

From Barron's ● Mar. 15, 2026

Last year, a pink-and-green striped bow tie he wore when introducing the Macintosh computer in 1984 sold for more than $35,000 at a Julien’s Auctions event that highlighted technology and history.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2026

When the team trooped up the slick marble steps into the library’s lobby, they saw Charles Chiltington, his mother, a bunch of stuffy-looking ladies, and that one guy in a bow tie.

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein