Library / English Dictionary

BOW

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A stroke with a curved piece of wood with taut horsehair strands that is used in playing stringed instruments

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("bow" is a kind of...):

stroke (a single complete movement)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bow"):

down-bow (a downward stroke from the heel to the tip of the bow)

up-bow (an upward stroke from the tip to the heel of the bow)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A slightly curved piece of resilient wood with taut horsehair strands; used in playing certain stringed instruments

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bow" is a kind of...):

stick (an implement consisting of a length of wood)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bow"):

fiddlestick; violin bow (a bow used in playing the violin)

Derivation:

bow (play on a stringed instrument with a bow)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A weapon for shooting arrows, composed of a curved piece of resilient wood with a taut cord to propel the arrow

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bow" is a kind of...):

arm; weapon; weapon system (any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting)

Meronyms (parts of "bow"):

limb (either of the two halves of a bow from handle to tip)

bowstring (the string of an archer's bow)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bow"):

crossbow (a bow fixed transversely on a wooden stock grooved to direct the arrow (quarrel))

Cupid's bow (a curved bow with reversed curve ends)

handbow (a bow drawn by hand as distinguished from a crossbow)

longbow (a powerful wooden bow drawn by hand; usually 5-6 feet long; used in medieval England)

Holonyms ("bow" is a part of...):

bow and arrow (a weapon consisting of arrows and the bow to shoot them)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Front part of a vessel or aircraft

Example:

he pointed the bow of the boat toward the finish line

Synonyms:

bow; fore; prow; stem

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bow" is a kind of...):

front (the side that is seen or that goes first)

Holonyms ("bow" is a part of...):

vessel; watercraft (a craft designed for water transportation)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A knot with two loops and loose ends; used to tie shoelaces

Synonyms:

bow; bowknot

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bow" is a kind of...):

knot (any of various fastenings formed by looping and tying a rope (or cord) upon itself or to another rope or to another object)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A decorative interlacing of ribbons

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bow" is a kind of...):

decoration; ornament; ornamentation (something used to beautify)

Sense 7

Meaning:

An appearance by actors or performers at the end of the concert or play in order to acknowledge the applause of the audience

Synonyms:

bow; curtain call

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("bow" is a kind of...):

thanks (an acknowledgment of appreciation)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Bending the head or body or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting

Synonyms:

bow; bowing; obeisance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("bow" is a kind of...):

reverence (an act showing respect (especially a bow or curtsy))

gesture; motion (the use of movements (especially of the hands) to communicate familiar or prearranged signals)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bow"):

salaam (a deep bow; a Muslim form of salutation)

scrape; scraping (a deep bow with the foot drawn backwards (indicating excessive humility))

kotow; kowtow (a former Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead as a sign of respect or submission)

genuflection; genuflexion (the act of bending the knees in worship or reverence)

Derivation:

bow (bend one's knee or body, or lower one's head)

bow (bend the head or the upper part of the body in a gesture of respect or greeting)

bow (bend one's back forward from the waist on down)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Something curved in shape

Synonyms:

arc; bow

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("bow" is a kind of...):

curve; curved shape (the trace of a point whose direction of motion changes)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bow"):

rainbow (an arc of colored light in the sky caused by refraction of the sun's rays by rain)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Yield to another's wish or opinion

Example:

The government bowed to the military pressure

Synonyms:

accede; bow; defer; give in; submit

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "bow" is one way to...):

buckle under; give in; knuckle under; succumb; yield (consent reluctantly)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s to somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Bend one's knee or body, or lower one's head

Example:

She bowed her head in shame

Synonyms:

bow; bow down

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "bow" is one way to...):

gesticulate; gesture; motion (show, express or direct through movement)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "bow"):

conge; congee (perform a ceremonious bow)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP
Somebody ----s to somebody

Derivation:

bow (bending the head or body or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Play on a stringed instrument with a bow

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "bow" is one way to...):

play (play on an instrument)

Domain category:

music (musical activity (singing or whistling etc.))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

bow (a slightly curved piece of resilient wood with taut horsehair strands; used in playing certain stringed instruments)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Bend the head or the upper part of the body in a gesture of respect or greeting

Example:

He bowed before the King

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "bow" is one way to...):

change posture (undergo a change in bodily posture)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "bow"):

take a bow (acknowledge applause by inclining the head, as of an artist after a performance)

curtsey; curtsy (bend the knees in a gesture of respectful greeting)

genuflect; kowtow; scrape (bend the knees and bow in a servile manner)

genuflect (bend the knees and bow in church or before a religious superior or image)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Also:

bow down (get into a prostrate position, as in submission)

Derivation:

bow (bending the head or body or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Bend one's back forward from the waist on down

Example:

The young man stooped to pick up the girl's purse

Synonyms:

bend; bow; crouch; stoop

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "bow" is one way to...):

bend; flex (form a curve)

"Bow" entails doing...:

change posture (undergo a change in bodily posture)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "bow"):

squinch (crouch down)

cower; huddle (crouch or curl up)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

bow (bending the head or body or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The breeze had but little action on the coracle, and I was almost instantly swept against the bows of the HISPANIOLA.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

I see them on this occasion fastened with an elaborate double bow, which is not your usual method of tying them.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

My uncle bowed and smiled to the lady.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Could I enter into a festival with this deadly weight yet hanging round my neck and bowing me to the ground?

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

When the Scarecrow had bowed, as prettily as his straw stuffing would let him, before this beautiful creature, she looked upon him sweetly, and said: I am Oz, the Great and Terrible.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

If you are single, know that the little cherubs of love will be flying above, equipped with their tiny bows and arrows to help you find your one truelove.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

This may be due to the motion of the host star plowing through the interstellar medium, like the bow wave from a boat crossing a lake.

(Hubble Finds Huge System of Dusty Material Enveloping the Young Star HR 4796A, NASA)

Then he took leave of his friends, and hung his bag and bow about his neck, and went his way.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

"Planets have a bow shock the same way a supersonic jet does," said Vadim Uritsky at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

(Messenger spots giant space weather effects at Mercury, NASA)

Issue associated with an undesired bulge, bend, bow, kink, or wavy condition observed in the device material resulting from compressive stresses.

(Buckled Medical Device Material, Food and Drug Administration)