I. BENDING OR SUBMITTING
/baʊ/
( bows, bowing, bowed)
1.
When you bow to someone, you briefly bend your body towards them as a formal way of greeting them or showing respect.
They bowed low to Louis and hastened out of his way...
He bowed slightly before taking her bag.
VERB : V to n , V
•
Bow is also a noun.
I gave a theatrical bow and waved.
N-COUNT : usu sing
2.
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.
The Colonel bowed his head and whispered a prayer of thanksgiving...
She stood still, head bowed, hands clasped in front of her.
= lower
VERB : V n , V-ed
3.
If you bow to pressure or to someone’s wishes, you agree to do what they want you to do.
Some shops are bowing to consumer pressure and stocking organically grown vegetables...
= yield
VERB : V to n
4.
If you are bowed by something, you are made unhappy and anxious by it, and lose hope.
...their determination not to be bowed in the face of the allied attacks.
V-PASSIVE : be V-ed
•
To be bowed down means the same as to be bowed .
I am bowed down by my sins.
PHRASAL VERB : be V-ed P
II. PART OF A SHIP
/baʊ/
( bows)
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.
N-COUNT
III. OBJECTS
/boʊ/
( bows)
1.
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.
N-COUNT
2.
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.
N-COUNT
3.
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.
N-COUNT