kowtow
verb (used without object)
to act in an obsequious manner; show servile deference.
had kowtowed
-
past perfectof kowtow.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
The companies, said WPB, had kowtowed to favorite customers without regard for Government priority ratings, had shipped civilian steel while war orders waited.
From Time Magazine Archive
The subject of the speech was Publisher William Randolph Hearst, who at that time packed so much punch in New York City politics that Tammany had kowtowed to him for over 16 years.
From Time Magazine Archive
Ushers had kowtowed and the heads of fashionable women had nodded and smiled.
From Destiny by Charles Neville Buck
They had kowtowed as a matter of form by the command of the principal.
From Botchan (Master Darling) by Yasotaro Morri
