What does bow mean?
Definitions for bow
boʊbow
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word bow.
Princeton's WordNet
bow, bowknotnoun
a knot with two loops and loose ends; used to tie shoelaces
bownoun
a slightly curved piece of resilient wood with taut horsehair strands; used in playing certain stringed instruments
bow, fore, prow, stemnoun
front part of a vessel or aircraft
"he pointed the bow of the boat toward the finish line"
bownoun
a weapon for shooting arrows, composed of a curved piece of resilient wood with a taut cord to propel the arrow
bow, arcnoun
something curved in shape
bow, bowing, obeisancenoun
bending the head or body or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting
bow, curtain callnoun
an appearance by actors or performers at the end of the concert or play in order to acknowledge the applause of the audience
bownoun
a decorative interlacing of ribbons
bowverb
a stroke with a curved piece of wood with taut horsehair strands that is used in playing stringed instruments
bow, bow downverb
bend one's knee or body, or lower one's head
"He bowed before the King"; "She bowed her head in shame"
submit, bow, defer, accede, give inverb
yield to another's wish or opinion
"The government bowed to the military pressure"
bowverb
bend the head or the upper part of the body in a gesture of respect or greeting
"He bowed before the King"
crouch, stoop, bend, bowverb
bend one's back forward from the waist on down
"he crouched down"; "She bowed before the Queen"; "The young man stooped to pick up the girl's purse"
bowverb
play on a string instrument with a bow
Wiktionary
bownoun
The front of a boat or ship.
Etymology: From bugan, from beuganan. Cognate with Dutch buigen, German biegen.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Bownoun
An act of reverence or submission, by bending the body.
Etymology: from the verb. It is pronounced, like the verb, as now, how.
Some clergy too she wou’d allow,
Nor quarrel’d at their awkward bow. Jonathan Swift.Bownoun
Take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison. Gen. xxvii. 3.
The white faith of hist’ry cannot show,
That e’er the musket yet could beat the bow. Charles Aleyn, Henry VII.Twining woody haunts, or the tough yew
To bows strong-straining. James Thomson, Autumn.I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. Gen. ix. 13.
Their instruments were various in their kind;
Some for the bow, and some for breathing wind:
The sawtry, pipe, and hautboy’s noisy band,
And the soft lute trembling beneath the touching hand. John Dryden, Fables.Make a knot, and let the second knot be with a bow. Richard Wiseman, Surgery.
As the ox hath his bow, Sir, the horse his curb, and the faulcon his bells, so man hath his desire. William Shakespeare, As you like it.
To BOWverb
Etymology: bugen, Saxon.
A threepence bow’d, would hire me,
Old as I am, to queen it. William Shakespeare, Henry VIII.Orpheus, with his lute, made trees,
And the mountain tops, that freeze,
Bow themselves when he did sing. William Shakespeare, Henry VIII.Some bow the vines, which bury’d in the plain,
Their tops in distant arches rise again. John Dryden, Virgil.The mind has not been made obedient to discipline, when at first it was most tender, and most easy to be bowed. John Locke.
They came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. 2 Kings, ii. 15.
Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Isaiah, lviii. 5.
Let it not grieve thee to bow down thine ear to the poor, and give him a friendly answer. Ecclus, iv. 8.
Are you so gospell’d,
To pray for this good man, and for his issue,
Whose heavy hand hath bow’d you to the grave,
And beggar’d yours for ever. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.Now wasting years my former strength confound,
And added woes may bow me to the ground. Alexander Pope.To Bowverb
Rather let my head
Stoop to the block, than these knees bow to any,
Save to the God of heav’n, and to my king. William Shakespeare, H. VI.This is the great idol to which the world bows; to this we pay our devoutest homage. Decay of Piety.
Admir’d, ador’d by all the circling crowd,
For wheresoe’er she turn’d her face, they bow’d. Dryden.The people bowed down upon their knees, to drink water. Judges, vii. 6.
They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden. Isaiah, xlvi. 2.
ChatGPT
bow
A bow can have several meanings: 1. A knot tied with two loops and two loose ends used especially for tying shoelaces and decorative ribbons. 2. A weapon used for shooting arrows, typically made of a curved piece of wood joined at both ends by a taut string. 3. A gesture expressing respect, gratitude, or subservience, where one bends the waist or sometimes fully prostrates oneself. 4. The front of a ship or boat. 5. A device used for playing string instruments such as violins, made of a curved stick with tightly stretched horsehair strands attached to it. The context of the sentence would determine which definition applies.
Webster Dictionary
Bowverb
to cause to deviate from straightness; to bend; to inflect; to make crooked or curved
Bowverb
to exercise powerful or controlling influence over; to bend, figuratively; to turn; to incline
Bowverb
to bend or incline, as the head or body, in token of respect, gratitude, assent, homage, or condescension
Bowverb
to cause to bend down; to prostrate; to depress,;/ to crush; to subdue
Bowverb
to express by bowing; as, to bow one's thanks
Bowverb
to bend; to curve
Bowverb
to stop
Bowverb
to bend the head, knee, or body, in token of reverence or submission; -- often with down
Bowverb
to incline the head in token of salutation, civility, or assent; to make bow
Bownoun
an inclination of the head, or a bending of the body, in token of reverence, respect, civility, or submission; an obeisance; as, a bow of deep humility
Bowverb
anything bent, or in the form of a curve, as the rainbow
Bowverb
a weapon made of a strip of wood, or other elastic material, with a cord connecting the two ends, by means of which an arrow is propelled
Bowverb
an ornamental knot, with projecting loops, formed by doubling a ribbon or string
Bowverb
the U-shaped piece which embraces the neck of an ox and fastens it to the yoke
Bowverb
an appliance consisting of an elastic rod, with a number of horse hairs stretched from end to end of it, used in playing on a stringed instrument
Bowverb
an arcograph
Bowverb
any instrument consisting of an elastic rod, with ends connected by a string, employed for giving reciprocating motion to a drill, or for preparing and arranging the hair, fur, etc., used by hatters
Bowverb
a rude sort of quadrant formerly used for taking the sun's altitude at sea
Bow
two pieces of wood which form the arched forward part of a saddletree
Bowverb
to play (music) with a bow
Bow
to manage the bow
Bownoun
the bending or rounded part of a ship forward; the stream or prow
Bownoun
one who rows in the forward part of a boat; the bow oar
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Bow
bow, v.i. to bend the body in saluting a person, acknowledging a compliment, &c.: to submit.—v.t. to bend or incline downwards, to crush down (with down, to, in or out, up or down).—n. a bending of the body in saluting a person.—adj. Bow′-backed, crook-backed.—A bowing acquaintance, a slight acquaintance.—To make one's bow, to retire ceremoniously, to leave the stage. [A.S. búgan, to bend; akin to L. fug-ĕre, to flee, to yield.]
Bow
bō, n. a piece of elastic wood or other material for shooting arrows, bent by means of a string stretched between its two ends: anything of a bent or curved shape, as the rainbow: the instrument by which the strings of a violin are sounded: a ring of metal forming a handle: a knot composed of one or of two loops and two ends (single bow, double bow), a looped knot of ribbons, a necktie or the like, so tied.—adj. Bow′bent (Milton), bent like a bow.—n. Bow′-boy, a boy archer: (Shak.) Cupid.—n.pl. Bow′-com′passes, compasses, one leg of which slides on a bow or curved plate of metal to steady its motion: a small pair of compasses for describing circles with ink or pencil.—adj. Bowed.—ns. Bow′-hand, in archery, the left hand, the one by which the bow is held: (mus.) the right hand, the one that draws the bow; Bow′-leg, a leg crooked like a bow.—adj. Bow′-legged, having crooked legs.—ns. Bow′line, a rope from the weather side of the square sails (to which it is fastened by bridles) to the larboard or starboard bow, to keep the sail close to the wind; Bow′man, an archer; Bow′shot, the distance to which an arrow can be shot from a bow; Bow′string, the string by which a bow is drawn: a string with which the Turks strangled offenders; Bow′-win′dow, a bent or semicircular window.—adj. Bow′-win′dowed (slang), pot-bellied.—n. Bow′yer (obs.), a bowman: a maker of bows.—Bowline knot, a simple but secure knot, used in fastening the bowline bridles to the cringles.—On the bow hand, wide of the mark.—To draw the long bow, to make extravagant statements; To have two (or more) strings to one's bow, to have other alternatives. [A.S. boga; cog. with Ger. bogen.]
Bow
bow, n. the general name for the stem and forepart of a ship, or that which cuts the water—often used in pl., the ship being considered to have starboard and port bows, meeting at the stem.—ns. Bow′er, Bow′er-anch′or, an anchor at the bow or forepart of a ship—usually two, the best-bower and the small-bower; Bow′-oar, the oar nearest the bow.—A bold, or bluff, bow, a broad bow; A lean bow, a narrow one.—On the bow, within 45° of the point right ahead.
Dictionary of Nautical Terms
bow
The fore-end of a ship or boat; being the rounding part of a vessel forward, beginning on both sides where the planks arch inwards, and terminating where they close, at the rabbet of the stem or prow, being larboard or starboard from that division. A bold bow is broad and round; a lean bow, narrow and thin.--On the bow. An arc of the horizon (not exceeding 45°) comprehended between some distant object and that point of the compass which is right ahead. Four points on either bow is met by four points before the beam.
bow
An astronomical instrument formerly used at sea, consisting of only one large graduated arc of 90°, three vanes, and a shank or staff. Also the bow of yew, a weapon of our early fleets.
bow
She bows to the breeze; when the sails belly out full, and the ship inclines and goes ahead, pitching or bowing over the blue waves.
Military Dictionary and Gazetteer
bow
A weapon made of a strip of wood, or other elastic material, with a cord connecting the two ends, by means of which, when drawn back and suffered to return, an arrow is propelled.
Editors Contribution
Suggested Resources
BOW
What does BOW stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the BOW acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.
Etymology and Origins
Bow
From the ancient stone bridge over the Lea, which was the first ever built in this country on a bow or arch.
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
BOW
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Bow is ranked #16909 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Bow surname appeared 1,684 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Bow.
70% or 1,180 total occurrences were White.
9.9% or 168 total occurrences were Black.
7.9% or 134 total occurrences were Asian.
4.7% or 80 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
4.6% or 78 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
2.6% or 44 total occurrences were of two or more races.
Matched Categories
British National Corpus
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'bow' in Nouns Frequency: #2449
Verbs Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'bow' in Verbs Frequency: #924
Anagrams for bow »
wob
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of bow in Chaldean Numerology is: 6
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of bow in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4
Examples of bow in a Sentence
( SWNS) He also has an impressive array of outfits in the videos, complete witha selection of over 300 bow ties to choose from.We always try to match his bow tie to what hes balancing on his head. We try to do themes for Halloween, Christmas and Easter too.
The only business of the head in the world is to bow a ceaseless obeisance to the heart.
President Trump's decision to award the G-7 Conference to President Trump own property was outrageous, corrupt and a constitutional violation. It was stunningly corrupt even for a stunningly corrupt administration, president Trump reversal of that decision is a bow to reality, but does not change how astonishing it was that a president ever thought this was appropriate, or that it was something he could get away with.
Ah, when to the heart of man Was it ever less than a treason To go with the drift of things To yield with a grace to reason And bow and accept at the end Of a love or a season.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani:
Implementation Day -- I thank God for this blessing bow to the greatness of the patient nation of Iran. Congrats on this glorious victory!
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for bow
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- ахыцAbkhaz
- strykstokAfrikaans
- ركع, قَوْس, انشوطة, انحنى, انحنى للتحيةArabic
- смычо́к, лук, смыкBelarusian
- извия се, поклоня се, панделка, извивам се, лък, извивам, свия, поклон, нос, извия, покланям се, свивам, извивкаBulgarian
- goareg, gwaregBreton
- corba, inclinació, doblegar, arc, reverència, corbar, vinclar, proaCatalan, Valencian
- ӏадChechen
- luk, poklona, příď, klička, smyčec, ohyb, ohnout, klanětCzech
- bwa, blaenWelsh
- bue, buk, bov, stryge, bukke, sløjfe, bøjeDanish
- streichen, Bogen, Verbeugung, Bug, SchleifeGerman
- daEwe
- λυγίζω, δοξάρι, αψίδα, τόξο, πλώρη, φιόγκος, υπόκλιση, πρώρα, κυρτώνω, υποκλίνομαιGreek
- arĉo, pafarko, arko, pruo, bantoEsperanto
- arco, reverencia, proa, arquear, doblar, inclinar, lazoSpanish
- vibuEstonian
- خمیدن, خم, کرنش, کمان, تعظیم, آرشه, نماز, خم کردن, خماندنPersian
- kaari, kokka, taivuttaa, kumartua, taipua, kumartaa, jousi, nauharuusuke, kumarrus, keula, rusettiFinnish
- bogi, bógvurFaroese
- archet, arc, proue, courber, fléchir, s'incliner, révérence, étraveFrench
- strykstôk, bûge, bôge, in bûging meitsjen, bûging, boechWestern Frisian
- bogha, tosachIrish
- lùb, crom, bogha, ùmhlachd, toiseach, slatag, bogha-saighdeScottish Gaelic
- croymManx
- קֶשֶת, כופף, התכופף, קד, קידהHebrew
- धनुष, कमानHindi
- vonó, meghajol, masni, íj, hajóorrHungarian
- աղեղArmenian
- busurIndonesian
- pruoIdo
- svigna, bogi, hneiging, bógur, hneigja sig, slaufa, bugast, bogna, sveigja, strjúka, beygjaIcelandic
- fiocco, arco, inchino, prua, archetto, curvare, incurvarsi, incurvare, piegarsi, fare la riverenza, piegare, curvarsi, inchinarsi, proraItalian
- קשתHebrew
- お辞儀する, 蝶結び, 弓, お辞儀, 辞儀, 辞儀するJapanese
- მშვილდიGeorgian
- тағзымKazakh
- tagiutKalaallisut, Greenlandic
- ធ្នូKhmer
- ಬಿಲ್ಲುKannada
- 활, 절, 이물Korean
- kevanKurdish
- arcusLatin
- ຄັນທະນູLao
- smičius, lankasLithuanian
- loksLatvian
- punake, puneke, tauihu, ihuMāori
- се свиткува, се клања, панделка, гудало, свиткува, лак, поклон, гуди, се поклонува, свиокMacedonian
- വില്ല്, കുനിയുകMalayalam
- нумMongolian
- panah, busurMalay
- bue, baug, bogeNorwegian
- strijkstok, buigen, strik, strijken, boog, buiging, boegDutch
- boge, baugNorwegian Nynorsk
- BueNorwegian
- ałtį́į́Navajo, Navaho
- arcOccitan
- gashka'oojigan, naazhaabike'iganaak, mitigwaabOjibwe, Ojibwa
- କୋଦଣ୍ଡOriya
- zgięcie, kokarda, łuk, ukłon, dziób, prowadzić smyczek, kłaniać, smyczek, zgiąć, wygiąć, skłonić, zagięciePolish
- curvar, arquear, arco, reverência, proa, laço, curva, [[tocar]] ([[com]] [[arco]]), curvar-sePortuguese
- t'iwkaQuechua
- artg, archRomansh
- arc, apleca, închinaRomanian
- лук, поклон, нос, бант, бантик, гнуться, кланяться, смычок, излучина, гнуть, поклонитьсяRussian
- arcu, alcuSardinian
- dávgiNorthern Sami
- zavoj, klanjati, gudalo, luk, pognuti, лук, naklon, pramacSerbo-Croatian
- luk, prova, sláčikSlovak
- lokSlovene
- harkAlbanian
- bockning, bog, krökning, böjas, båge, kröka, bågna, rundning, buga, krokna, böja, bocka, rosett, stäv, stråke, pilbåge, bugning, förSwedish
- uta, upindeSwahili
- வில்Tamil
- విల్లు, ధనుస్సుTelugu
- ศร, โบว์, ธนู, โบ, หนังสะติ๊กThai
- yayTurkish
- смичо́к, лукUkrainian
- دھنش, کمانUrdu
- cung, 弓Vietnamese
- bobVolapük
- בויגןYiddish
- 弓Chinese
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