Definition of the word bow1

Pronunciation of vocabulary bow1

bow1verb

Bow1

/baʊ//baʊ/

Origin of the word bow1

Word OriginOld English būgan ‘bend, stoop’, of Germanic origin; related to German biegen, also to bow2. Bow of a boat/​ship is late Middle English: from Low German boog, Dutch boeg, ‘shoulder or ship's bow’; related to bough.

Example of vocabulary bow1namespace

meaning

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.
Extra examples:
  • He swept off his hat and bowed deeply to the queen.
  • The emperor's subjects bowed down before him.
  • The pianist stood up and bowed to the audience.
meaning

to move your head forwards and downwards

  • She bowed her head in shame.
  • They stood in silence with their heads bowed.
meaning

to bend or make something bend

  • The pines bowed in the wind.
  • Their backs were bowed under the weight of their packs.

Idioms of vocabulary bow1

bow and scrape
(disapproving)to be too polite to an important person in order to gain their approval
  • She was beginning to tire of all their bowing and scraping.

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