I .
/ baʊ; NAmE / verb , noun
—see also bow (II)
■ verb
1.
[ v ] bow (down) (to / before sb/sth) to move your head or the top half of your body forwards and downwards as a sign of respect or to say hello or goodbye :
He bowed low to the assembled crowd.
The people all bowed down before the Emperor.
2.
[ vn ] to move your head forwards and downwards :
She bowed her head in shame.
They stood in silence with their heads bowed.
3.
to bend or make sth bend :
[ v ]
The pines bowed in the wind.
[ vn ]
Their backs were bowed under the weight of their packs.
•
IDIOMS
- bow and scrape
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- bow down to sb/sth
- bow out (of sth)
- bow to sth
■ noun
1.
the act of bending your head or the upper part of your body forward in order to say hello or goodbye to sb or to show respect
2.
(also bows [ pl. ]) the front part of a boat or ship
—picture at liner
—compare stern noun
•
IDIOMS
- take a / your bow
—more at shot noun
II .
/ bəʊ; NAmE boʊ/ noun , verb
—see also bow (I)
■ noun
1.
a weapon used for shooting arrows, consisting of a long curved piece of wood with a tight string joining its ends :
He was armed with a bow and arrow .
2.
a knot with two loops and two loose ends which is used for decoration on clothes, in hair, etc. or for tying shoes :
to tie your shoelaces in a bow
Her hair was tied back in a neat bow.
3.
a long thin piece of wood with thin string stretched along it, used for playing musical instruments such as the violin
—picture at violin
•
IDIOMS
see string noun
■ verb
[ v , vn ] to use a bow to play a musical instrument that has strings
••
WORD ORIGIN
I . Old English būgan bend, stoop , of Germanic origin; related to German biegen , also to bow (II). Bow of a boat / ship is late Middle English : from Low German boog , Dutch boeg , shoulder or ship's bow; related to bough .
II . Old English boga bend, bow, arch , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch boog and German Bogen , also to bow (I).