Cupid's bow

American  

[boh] / boʊ /

noun

1. a classical bow Cupid is traditionally pictured as bearing.

2. a line or shape resembling this, especially the line of the upper lip.

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Cupid's bow British  

noun

1. a shape of the upper lip considered to resemble Cupid's double-curved bow

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Etymology

Origin of Cupid's bow

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

Caricatures are a shorthand for the physical traits that make stars distinctive: Angela Lansbury’s immense Tweety Bird eyes, for example, or Bernadette Peters’s Cupid’s bow mouth.

From New York Times • Dec. 9, 2021

ROMEO: Soft, speak not of human follies when Cupid’s bow aims true.

From New York Times • Apr. 21, 2016

Its most distinctive effect is clearly shown in Peter's portrait, his curvy Cupid's bow lips.

From The Guardian • Mar. 20, 2011

To the first issue of Know Thyself he contributed a poem, Love, which begins: "A subtle dart From Cupid's bow, And, lo, the heart Receives a blow!"

From Time Magazine Archive

Short and pudgy, with a Cupid’s bow mouth.

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera