target sports

arrow

[æ̱roʊ]
 arrows
 1) N-COUNT An arrow is a long thin weapon which is sharp and pointed at one end and which often has feathers at the other end. An arrow is shot from a bow.
  Warriors armed with bows and arrows and spears have invaded their villages.
 2) N-COUNT An arrow is a written or printed sign that consists of a straight line with another line bent at a sharp angle at one end. This is a printed arrow: →. The arrow points in a particular direction to indicate where something is.
  A series of arrows points the way to the modest grave of Andrei Sakharov.
 3) slings and arrows → see

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

archery

[ɑ͟ː(r)tʃəri]
 N-UNCOUNT
 Archery is a sport in which people shoot arrows at a target using a bow.
  ...a traditional national festival of horse racing, wrestling and archery.