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Bow   /baʊ/  /boʊ/   Listen
noun
Bow  n.  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.


Bow  n.  
1.
Anything bent, or in the form of a curve, as the rainbow. "I do set my bow in the cloud."
2.
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.
3.
An ornamental knot, with projecting loops, formed by doubling a ribbon or string.
4.
The U-shaped piece which embraces the neck of an ox and fastens it to the yoke.
5.
(Mus.) 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.
6.
An arcograph.
7.
(Mech. & Manuf.) 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.
8.
(Naut.) A rude sort of quadrant formerly used for taking the sun's altitude at sea.
9.
(Saddlery) sing. or pl. Two pieces of wood which form the arched forward part of a saddletree.
Bow bearer (O. Eng. Law), an under officer of the forest who looked after trespassers.
Bow drill, a drill worked by a bow and string.
Bow instrument (Mus.), any stringed instrument from which the tones are produced by the bow.
Bow window (Arch.) See Bay window.
To draw a long bow, to lie; to exaggerate. (Colloq.)


Bow  n.  
1.
(Naut.) The bending or rounded part of a ship forward; the stream or prow.
2.
(Naut.) One who rows in the forward part of a boat; the bow oar.
Bow chaser (Naut.), a gun in the bow for firing while chasing another vessel.
Bow piece, a piece of ordnance carried at the bow of a ship.
On the bow (Naut.), on that part of the horizon within 45° on either side of the line ahead.


verb
Bow  v. t.  (past & past part. bowed; pres. part. bowing)  
1.
To cause to deviate from straightness; to bend; to inflect; to make crooked or curved. "We bow things the contrary way, to make them come to their natural straightness." "The whole nation bowed their necks to the worst kind of tyranny."
2.
To exercise powerful or controlling influence over; to bend, figuratively; to turn; to incline. "Adversities do more bow men's minds to religion." "Not to bow and bias their opinions."
3.
To bend or incline, as the head or body, in token of respect, gratitude, assent, homage, or condescension. "They came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him."
4.
To cause to bend down; to prostrate; to depress; to crush; to subdue. "Whose heavy hand hath bowed you to the grave."
5.
To express by bowing; as, to bow one's thanks.


Bow  v. i.  
1.
To bend; to curve. (Obs.)
2.
To stop. (Archaic) "They stoop, they bow down together."
3.
To bend the head, knee, or body, in token of reverence or submission; often with down. "O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker."
4.
To incline the head in token of salutation, civility, or assent; to make bow. "Admired, adored by all circling crowd, For wheresoe'er she turned her face, they bowed."


Bow  v. i.  (past & past part. bowed; pres. part. bowing)  
1.
To play (music) with a bow.
2.
To manage the bow.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Bow" Quotes from Famous Books



... whose pebbles are like those found on modern shores; the hardened sea-sands of the oldest epochs show ripple-marks, such as may now be found on every sandy coast; nay, more, the pits left by ancient rain-drops prove that even in the very earliest ages, the "bow in the clouds" must have adorned the palaeozoic firmament. So that if we could reverse the legend of the Seven Sleepers,—if we could sleep back through the past, and awake a million ages before our own epoch, in the midst of the earliest geologic times,—there is no reason to ...
— Time and Life • Thomas H. Huxley
... at last spoke Captain Kane, 'All our anchors are in vain, And the Germans and the Yankees they have drifted to the lee! Cut the cables at the bow! We must trust the engines now! Give her steam, and let her have it, lads, we'll fight her ...
— Rio Grande's Last Race and Other Verses • Andrew Barton 'Banjo' Paterson
... weary bones, saluted by the tears of so many weary pilgrims who have come hither to seek strength from his example. Here are the churches above, full of the works of earlier art, animated by the contagion of a great example. It is impossible not to bow the head, and feel how mighty an influence flows from a single soul, sincere in its service of truth, in whatever form that ...
— At Home And Abroad - Or, Things And Thoughts In America and Europe • Margaret Fuller Ossoli
... big white bow on the portmanteau and on a trunk handle.] If Auntie Tillman sees 'em, I'll bet she'll grab 'em off. She'll be as mad ...
— The Girl with the Green Eyes - A Play in Four Acts • Clyde Fitch
... galley would turn and fly from the attack, for the monster itself seemed as large as our vessel; but there was not the slightest thought of flight. On the contrary, every man was on the alert; some sprang to the bow and stood there, awaiting the first shock; others, amidship, stood waiting for the orders of the Kohen. Meanwhile the monster approached, and at length, with a sweep of his long neck, came down upon the dense ...
— A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder • James De Mille


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