bowls

British

/ bəʊlz /

noun

1. a game played on a bowling green in which a small bowl (the jack) is pitched from a mark and two opponents or opposing teams take turns to roll biased wooden bowls towards it, the object being to finish as near the jack as possible
2. ( as modifier )
  
  a bowls tournament
skittles or tenpin bowling

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

There are around 30 of us, maybe more — all experiencing the soundscape of the quartz bowls; a tech-free hour designed for us to commune with memory, creativity and emotion.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

By 10 a.m., servers at the Geneva location were carrying in armfuls of coffee cups, bowls, serrated knives and silverware.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

They include "photos" of Samba riding a bike and playing a game of bowls while wearing a flat cap.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

Big bowls of iceberg lettuce dressed in Italian vinaigrette.

From Salon • Mar. 15, 2026

The birds coo and hop as Nigel moves from cage to cage, pouring water into small bowls.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023