a weapon for shooting arrows, made of a long, thin piece of wood bent into a curve by a tightly stretched string
bow and arrowsbow and arrows
Oxford Essential Dictionary
bow
noun
pronunciation
With these meanings, the word bow sounds like go.
1 a curved piece of wood with a string between the two ends. You use a bow to send arrows through the air.
2 a knot with two loose round parts and two loose ends that you use when you are tying shoes, etc.
3 a long thin piece of wood with hair stretched across it that you use for playing some musical instruments:
a violin bow
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
bow2 /baʊ/ BrE AmE noun
1. [countable] the act of bending the top part of your body forward to show respect for someone when you meet them, or as a way of thanking an ↑audience
take/give a bow (=bow to the audience at the end of a performance)
The music ended and the girl took a bow.
He gave a final bow just as the curtains came down.
This is done with a formal bow to the king or queen.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
noun
1. the act of bending your head or the upper part of your body forward in order to say hello or goodbye to sb or to show respect
• She gave a slight bow of her head in greeting.
• The messenger made a formal bow and left the room.
2. (also bows plural) the front part of a boat or ship
compare stern n.
more at a shot across the/sb's bows at shot n.
Word Origin:
Old English būgan ‘bend, stoop’ Germanic German biegen bow2 late Middle English Low German boog Dutch boeg ‘shoulder or ship's bow’ bough
Example Bank:
• He gave a formal bow and left the room.
• He made a deep bow to the king.
• He gave her a deep bow.
• The song ended and Albert took a bow.
• The boss takes his final bow today.
• The team's chairman takes his final bow at this match.
• The ship's name was printed on her bow.
• There were huge waves breaking over the bows.
• There's a small boat on the port bow.
• They fired a shot across our bow/bows.
• We left two men in the bow to receive the cargo.
• A huge whale crossed our bows.
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
bow / bəʊ / / boʊ / noun [ C ] (WEAPON)
B2 a weapon for shooting arrows, made of a long, thin piece of wood bent into a curve by a tightly stretched string:
bow and arrows
→ See also crossbow
See picture bow
See picture sports 3
bow / bəʊ / / boʊ / noun [ C ] (KNOT)
B2 a knot with two curved parts and two loose ends, used as a decoration or to tie shoes:
I tied the ribbon around the parcel in a pretty bow.
See picture bow
bow / baʊ / noun [ C ] ( also bows ) (FRONT PART)
the front part of a ship
→ Compare stern noun
See picture bow
bow / baʊ / noun [ C ] (BEND)
the movement of bending your head or body forward, especially as a way of showing someone respect or expressing thanks to people who have watched you perform:
The audience applauded enthusiastically, and she came back on stage to take another bow.
bow / bəʊ / / boʊ / noun [ C ] (MUSIC)
C2 a long, thin piece of wood with hair from the tail of a horse stretched along it, used to play musical instruments that have strings:
Violins are played with bows.
See picture bow
See picture music (strings)
Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
bow
I BENDING OR SUBMITTING
bows, bowing, bowed
(Pronounced [ba͟ʊ] in bow 1 and 2, and [bo͟ʊ] in bow 3.)
1) VERB When you bow to someone, you briefly bend your body towards them as a formal way of greeting them or showing respect.
[V to n] They bowed low to Louis and hastened out of his way...
He bowed slightly before taking her bag.
N-COUNT: usu sing
Bow is also a noun. I gave a theatrical bow and waved.
2) VERB If you bow your head, you bend it downwards so that you are looking towards the ground, for example because you want to show respect or because you are thinking deeply about something.
[V n] The Colonel bowed his head and whispered a prayer of thanksgiving...
[V-ed] She stood still, head bowed, hands clasped in front of her.
Syn:
lower
3) VERB If you bow to pressure or to someone's wishes, you agree to do what they want you to do.
[V to n] Some shops are bowing to consumer pressure and stocking organically grown vegetables...
[V to n] Parliament has bowed to the demand for a referendum next year.
4) V-PASSIVE If you are bowed by something, you are made unhappy and anxious by it, and lose hope.
[be V-ed] ...their determination not to be bowed in the face of the allied attacks.
PHR-V-PASSIVE
To be bowed down means the same as to be bowed. be V-ed P I am bowed down by my sins.
5) PHRASE: V inflects If someone bows to the inevitable and does something that they do not want to do, they do it, because circumstances force them to do it.
He bowed to the inevitable and announced that he was willing to resume diplomatic relations.
6) PHRASE: V and N inflect If an actor or entertainer takes a bow, he or she shows appreciation of an audience's applause by bowing to them.
They ran to the center of the tent to take their bows.
Phrasal Verbs:
- bow down
- bow outII PART OF A SHIP
bows
N-COUNT
(Pronounced [ba͟ʊ] in bow 1 and 2, and [bo͟ʊ] in bow 3.)
The front part of a ship is called the bow or the bows. The plural bows can be used to refer either to one or to more than one of these parts.
The waves were about five feet now, and the bow of the boat was leaping up and down.
...the sight of that magnificent ship lit up from bow to stern.
...spray from the ship's bows.III OBJECTS
bows
(Pronounced [ba͟ʊ] in bow 1 and 2, and [bo͟ʊ] in bow 3.)
1) N-COUNT A bow is a knot with two loops and two loose ends that is used in tying shoelaces and ribbons.
Add a length of ribbon tied in a bow.
2) N-COUNT A bow is a weapon for shooting arrows which consists of a long piece of curved wood with a string attached to both its ends.
Some of the raiders were armed with bows and arrows.
3) N-COUNT The bow of a violin or other stringed instrument is a long thin piece of wood with fibres stretched along it, which you move across the strings of the instrument in order to play it.
4) another string to your bow → see string
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
4bow /ˈboʊ/ noun, pl bows [count]
1 : a knot that is made by tying a ribbon or string into two or more loops and that is used for tying shoelaces or for decoration
• She tied/wore a bow in her hair.
- see also bow tie
2 : a weapon used for shooting arrows that is made of a long, thin piece of wood which is bent with its ends connected by a tight, strong string
• They hunted with bows and arrows.
3 : a tool that is used for playing a violin or similar musical instrument and that is made of a thin stick of wood with its ends connected by stretched pieces of hair or fiber - see picture at stringed instrument
- compare 2bow, 3bow
3bow /ˈbaʊ/ noun, pl bows [count] : the front part of a boat or ship
• The deck was cleaned from bow to stern. [=from the front end to the back end]
- see picture at boat; opposite 2stern
- compare 2bow, 4bow
2bow noun, pl bows [count] : the act of bending forward at the neck or waist in order to greet someone or show respect : the act of bowing
• In some cultures it is polite to greet people with a bow, while in others a handshake is preferred.
• He smiled and made/gave a bow.
take a bow : to bow towards an audience that is applauding for you
• When the play has finished, the actors will line up to take a bow.
- often used figuratively to say that someone deserves to be praised
• The people who organized the festival should take a bow for its remarkable success.
- compare 3bow 4bow