bow¹

B1 Topic:Maritime & Sailing

US /baʊ/ UK /baʊ/ See IPA manual

Homophones

bend, yield; front of a ship

Audio for this pronunciation isn’t available yet.

Homographs: bow² /ˈboʊ̯/ — archery weapon

Pronunciation and word origins: Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Freq #2703

Meanings

1

verb
To bend the head or upper body forward as a sign of respect or greeting.

The actors bowed as the audience applauded.
2

verb
To give in to someone else's wishes or pressure.

The government finally bowed to public pressure and changed the law.
3

noun
The front part of a ship or boat.

Waves crashed against the bow as the ship sailed on.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to bend the head or upper... bow downstoop

2 verb · to give in to someone... give insubmit defer

3 noun · the front part of a ship or... stem

Word family

Forms bowedbowingbows

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

bow your head
to lower your head as a sign of respect, prayer, or sorrow

Verb + noun

Etymology

From Middle English bowen, buwen, buȝen, from Old English būgan, from Proto-West Germanic *beugan, from Proto-Germanic *beuganą, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewgʰ- (“to bend”). PIE word

Topics

Maritime & Sailing Actions & Processes

External links

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