/bowt/ , n.
1. a contest or trial of strength, as of boxing.
2. period; session; spell: a bout of illness.
3. a turn at work or any action.
4. a going and returning across a field, as in mowing or reaping.
[ 1535-45; var. of obs. bought bend, turn, deriv. of bow BOW 1 ; see BIGHT ]
Syn. 1. match, fray, encounter.