cower
Americanverb (used without object)
-
cowers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cowered,
past participle, past
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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
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are coweringprogressive
-
is coweringprogressive
-
have been coweringperfect progressive
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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:
He shared videos from street demonstrations, describing them as "in defence of the Homeland" and added: "Our people do not cower."
From BBC ● May 2, 2026
“This is a story of happiness,” Gibson insists at one point, refusing to cower to cancer.
From Salon ● Feb. 3, 2025
Because the court did not cower in the face of this resistance, our country continued forward on the path toward a more just and democratic society.
From Slate ● Feb. 7, 2024
Ten 6-week-old piglets cower together in the corner of a gated pen spread with straw.
From Science Magazine ● Dec. 7, 2023
Wolves would cower in the glens like foxes when they caught that deadly scent.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
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
That’s not the culture of an organization that, even in its darkest times, cowers to no one and challenges everyone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2025
"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
Sara cowers in her seat and silently chews her peanut-butter sandwich.
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
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
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
Those who didn’t have the means to flee the city quickly enough cowered in its basements, surviving — but only just — without electricity, gas or running water.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 14, 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
Lamont cowered, but I marched him out of the room.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
They doubled back into the town and spent days cowering in a basement, while the Russians took over the area.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
The image of a fluffy white dog cowering in a corner tugged on heartstrings across the globe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2026
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
The image of Ruben Amorim cowering in the dugout at Grimsby will take some forgetting.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2025
At the last second, the empousa turned toward me like a cowering victim.
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
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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.
