🙇 To bend forward 🙇 A respectful bend 🤲 To give in 🚢 Front of ship 🎀 A ribbon knot 🏹 Arrow weapon 🎻 Instrument stick 🎻 To play strings ➰ A curved shape

to bow

12 7.7

To play a string instrument using a curved stick with tight hairs

verb
/boʊ/

: tocar con arco

She learned to bow gracefully while playing her cello during the concert.
bow the strings
bow the instrument

Examples

To create this haunting sound, you must properly bow across the instrument's strings.
Meanwhile, you can learn to bow with Ivan on his violin.

Fiction book (1997)
And when a violinist plays, they draw their bow across the strings, causing the strings to vibrate and generate sound.
Vocalists might sing on neutral syllables, while string players might bow a passage on open strings.

Academic text (2009)
The rhythm songs can be used for tonguing or bowing exercises or for rhythmic warm-ups at the start of rehearsals.

Academic text (1997)
The violinist expertly bowed the strings, producing a beautiful melody.

Synonyms

to fiddle

vsto bow

2 4.2

To play the violin in a lively way

uses a curved stick with horsehair to play any stringed instrument

Idioms

to take a bow

14 3.7

Bend forward to thank people who clap for you

a shot across the bow

4 7.7

An early warning action or comment showing a stronger response may follow

to bow and scrape

Archaic

3 9.4

Behave too politely and humbly to please someone

string to one's bow

1 8.5

An extra skill someone can use later

bow chicka wow wow

NSFW

9.9

A playful phrase that copies cheesy music to show a flirty mood

to bow down before the porcelain god

Informal

9.9

To vomit into a toilet after drinking too much

to make one's bow

7.2

To come on stage at the end of a show and thank the audience

to make one's bow

Formal

7.9

To appear in public for the first time in an important role

to go to the bow-wows

Archaic

9.9

To become ruined and fail completely

to pull the long bow

Archaic

9.1

To tell a story in a way that makes what happened sound bigger or not true

to the bow-wows

Archaic

9.9

To end in ruin or complete failure

Phrasal Verbs

to bow down

30 3.7

Lower your head or body to show respect, often as a sign that you obey someone

to bow out

20 4.9

To stop doing a job or role politely

to bow respectfully

1 3.9

Bend your upper body forward from the waist to show respect

Compounds

bow tie

36 2.8

A small necktie tied in a bow, worn for formal events

bow and arrow

22 3.3

A weapon using a curved bow to shoot arrows for hunting or fighting

violin bow

1 4.0

A thin curved stick with horsehair used to play the violin by drawing it across the strings

Bow Street Runner

Archaic

1 9.9

A member of London's first organized police force from the mid 1700s to the early 1800s

bow window

1 4.7

A window that sticks out from a wall in a gentle curve to give more light and space

bow legs

7.0

Legs that curve outward at the knees so the feet and ankles touch while the knees are apart

bow leg

7.1

Legs that curve outward below the knee so the knees stay apart when the feet are together

bow wood

Specialized

9.9

A small tree with hard orange wood used to make bows

Cupid's bow

8.1

A double curve of the upper lip that looks like a small bow

Cupid's bow

Literature

8.0

A curved weapon for shooting arrows with tips that curve outward

down-bow

Specialized

8.8

A bow movement from the part near your hand toward the tip when playing a string instrument

mouth bow

9.9

A flexible bow held between the teeth and plucked to make music

sound bow

Specialized

9.9

Thick part of a bell that the metal piece inside hits to make it ring

up-bow

Specialized

9.3

An upward movement of the bow from tip toward the hand when playing violin or cello

Surface Forms

bow infinitive

bowed past

bowed past participle

bowing present participle

bows third person singular

Etymology

Bow meaning 'to play with a bow' comes from the noun bow (the curved stick). The verb simply means to use that curved tool on the strings, so 'to bow' is to play with a bow.