cower
Americanverb (used without object)
-
cowers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cowered,
past participle, past
-
cowering
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
cowersimple
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cowerssimple
-
have coweredperfect
-
has coweredperfect
-
am coweringprogressive
-
are coweringprogressive
-
is coweringprogressive
-
have been coweringperfect progressive
-
has been coweringperfect progressive
Past
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coweredsimple
-
had coweredperfect
-
was coweringprogressive
-
were coweringprogressive
-
had been coweringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cower
1250–1300; Middle English couren; cognate with Norwegian, Swedish kūra, Middle Low German kūren, German kauern
Explanation
To cower is to shrink in fear. Whether they live in the country or city, any mouse will cower when a huge, hungry cat approaches. When you cower, you're not just afraid. You're so terrified that your whole body cringes, crouches, and shrinks in on itself to hide from the source of your fear. Victims of a school bully might cower whenever he comes near, and a law-breaking peasant might cower when brought before a cruel king. Although a coward might cower in fear, the two words aren't related.
Vocabulary lists containing cower
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Of Mice and Men
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"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
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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.
See Examples For:
After 36 hours in our care, Bob still had not peed, pooped, eaten, or done much of anything beyond cower.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2025
It could cower any woman, but Case hardened and bristled into a take-no-crap, determined, independent force of nature.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2025
Ten 6-week-old piglets cower together in the corner of a gated pen spread with straw.
From Science Magazine ● Dec. 7, 2023
He sought to walk towards the blizzard of criticism - an unlikely alliance taking in Ford and the National Trust among many others - rather than cower from it.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2023
No humans had trespassed into his forest, forcing him to cower or sneak.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
When he pops “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” under the spotlight, a volunteer cowers in the chair while Garry leaps over it with impressive dexterity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
"He doesn't want to go for a walk when he has a muzzle on, he shivers and cowers down, it's horrible to see, but once he's up here he's like a new puppy again."
From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2024
She cowers in tiny, dark places at every bang.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 22, 2023
Only when he realizes that George is telling the truth does he reach out with gentleness, but George still cowers away.
From Salon ● Dec. 30, 2021
She cowers to my largeness, taking two steps back.
From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles
More than 30 dogs were crowded together on the stairs, while others climbed on the kitchen sides or cowered in corners.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
“Others might have cowered or taken time to regroup and figure out what they should do,” said Wald.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026
He briefly cowered, before realizing it was a taped-up black cricket ball that soared up from the ground floor.
From Salon ● Dec. 15, 2022
As he cowered in the grass, a young woman in a red dress appeared, only her upper body visible.
From New York Times ● Oct. 7, 2022
The little otak cowered by his shoulder, quivering.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Still, not everyone in the hunt is cowering in fear about how the course could wind up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
Of course, if we had thought about nuclear war every minute of every day, we might indeed have been cowering under our sheets.
From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2025
On Friday, Musk shared two side-by-side A.I.-generated images of graffiti-style stencils: a smiling, handsome Kirk, and a cowering, dying Zarutska.
From Slate ● Sep. 12, 2025
Ms Ventura sat cowering in the corner with her face covered, Mr Florez said.
From BBC ● May 12, 2025
He spun around, rising to his feet, expecting to confront either an attacker or a rodent, but instead saw only a boy cowering behind an overturned desk.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
