BOW

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does bow mean? 

• BOW (noun)
  The noun BOW has 9 senses:

1. a knot with two loops and loose ends; used to tie shoelaces

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

3. front part of a vessel or aircraft

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

5. something curved in shape

6. bending the head or body or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting

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

8. a decorative interlacing of ribbons

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

  Familiarity information: BOW used as a noun is familiar.

• BOW (verb)
  The verb BOW has 5 senses:

1. bend one's knee or body, or lower one's head

2. yield to another's wish or opinion

3. bend the head or the upper part of the body in a gesture of respect or greeting

4. bend one's back forward from the waist on down

5. play on a stringed instrument with a bow

  Familiarity information: BOW used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BOW (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

bow; bowknot

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 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:

Front part of a vessel or aircraft

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

bow; fore; prow; stem

Context example:

he pointed the bow of the boat toward the finish line

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 4

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 5

Meaning:

Something curved in shape

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Synonyms:

arc; bow

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)

Sense 6

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

bow; bowing; obeisance

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"):

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

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

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

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 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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

bow; curtain call

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

thanks (an acknowledgment of appreciation)

Sense 8

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 9

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"):

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

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

• BOW (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they bow    ... he / she / it bows   
Past simple: bowed   
Past participle: bowed   
-ing form: bowing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

bow; bow down

Context example:

She bowed her head in shame

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 2

Meaning:

Yield to another's wish or opinion

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

accede; bow; defer; give in; submit

Context example:

The government bowed to the military pressure

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

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

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s to somebody

Sense 3

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

He bowed before the King

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 4

Meaning:

Bend one's back forward from the waist on down

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

bend; bow; crouch; stoop

Context example:

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

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)

Sense 5

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)

 Context examples 

"And Mrs. Haythorne," Messner smiled and bowed.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

There lay the Ghost, bow on to the beach, her splintered bowsprit projecting over the sand, her tangled spars rubbing against her side to the lift of the crooning waves.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

He bowed, and, turning away without observing the hand which the King had stretched out to him, he set off in my company for his chambers.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He bowed with the look of a man who is utterly crushed, and slunk past me without a word.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I pulled off my hat, and made a low bow towards the farmer.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

Before such he bowed down and marvelled, knowing that they were beyond the deliberate creation of any man.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The two statesmen bowed and walked gravely from the room.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

With a courteous bow, he opened for me himself the door to the octagonal room, and I entered my bedroom....

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Mr. Micawber, I may remark, had taken his full share of the general bow, and had received it with infinite condescension.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

“Your Company has been, then, to bow knee before our holy father, the Pope Urban, the prop and centre of Christendom?” asked Alleyne, much interested.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)