Bow | Mean of bow in English Dictionary

/ˈbaʊ/

• Verb
• to bend forward at the neck or waist as a formal way of greeting someone or showing respect
1. He bowed politely and introduced himself to us.
2. You must bow (down) before the king.
3. a man bowing to kiss the hand of a woman
4. The men bowed and the women curtsied as the royal couple walked past.
5. She bowed down in front of the altar.
6. They bowed to each other and began talking.
7. She bowed to the audience and walked off stage.
• to turn (your head) down so that you are looking toward the ground
1. people bowing their heads in prayer
2. His head was bowed [=lowered] in shame.
3. We listened with bowed heads.
• to stop trying to fight or resist something
1. The President bowed [=gave in, yielded] to political pressure.
2. They usually bow to his wishes. [=they usually do what he wants]
3. She finally bowed to the inevitable and accepted their decision.

• to treat someone who is powerful or wealthy in an extremely respectful way especially in order to get approval, friendship, etc.
1. She's disgusted by politicians who bow and scrape before wealthy contributors.
• to show weakness by agreeing to the demands or following the orders of (someone or something)
1. I will bow down to no one. [=I will take orders from no one; I will submit to no one]
2. The government is refusing to bow down to [=give in to] pressure to lift the sanctions.
• to stop doing something
1. He knew he would not win the election, so he decided to bow out of the presidential race.
2. He bowed out [=left, withdrew] gracefully.
3. She has bowed out of the restaurant business entirely.
• Noun
• the act of bending forward at the neck or waist in order to greet someone or show respect
1. In some cultures it is polite to greet people with a bow, while in others a handshake is preferred.
2. He smiled and made/gave a bow.
• to bow towards an audience that is applauding for you
1. When the play has finished, the actors will line up to take a bow.
2. The people who organized the festival should take a bow for its remarkable success.
• the front part of a boat or ship
1. The deck was cleaned from bow to stern. [=from the front end to the back end]
• a knot that is made by tying a ribbon or string into two or more loops and that is used for tying shoelaces or for decoration
1. She tied/wore a bow in her hair.
• a weapon used for shooting arrows that is made of a long, thin piece of wood which is bent with its ends connected by a tight, strong string
1. They hunted with bows and arrows.
• a tool that is used for playing a violin or similar musical instrument and that is made of a thin stick of wood with its ends connected by stretched pieces of hair or fiber
• Verb
• to use a bow to play (a violin or similar musical instrument)
1. bowing or plucking the violin strings
• to bend or curve
1. The wall bows out at the bottom.
2. Years of riding horses has bowed his legs.
3. People with this disorder often have bowed legs.