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bowl

bowl

16 2.8
A heavy ball used in the game of lawn bowling
  • noun
  • /boʊl/
  • UK
translation icon : bola
  • Ipa loved the earthy smell of red potter's clay and took great pleasure in shaping bowls and vessels.

The sun is like the bowling ball, and the earth is like the marble.

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Examples

  • Long-finned fish swim in separate bowls between the seats of the orange car.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • He threw the heavy bowl down the lane to try and knock over the pins.

  • Aim for the bowl, please.

  • The woman removed the bowls and went into the kitchen.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The old man and the woman held up their bowls.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • A great dust bowl had ravaged food supplies.

  • The resulting bowl-shaped depression is about the size of a dinner plate.

    Academic text (2005)
  • During league night, everyone cheered as she rolled the bowl perfectly down the alley.

  • In bowling, the goal is to control the bowl and aim for a strike on your first roll.

Synonyms

ball
vsbowl
1.0

A round object used in games like football or tennis

is a heavy specialised version used specifically for rolling at pins or on grass
bowling ball
vsbowl
22 1.8

A large heavy ball with three finger holes used to knock down pins

is used both on grass and indoors and often lacks finger holes

Idioms

To say you need to go to the toilet to poop as a joke

Compounds

13 1.0

A large part of a toilet that holds waste until you flush

12 2.6

A large deep bowl for serving drinks at parties

11 1.0

A large bowl for putting ingredients together when you cook or bake

4 1.0

A deep dish for serving and eating soup

3 6.5

A dry area with strong dust storms that ruined farms in the 1930s

3 1.0

A small container for serving sugar at the table

3 1.0

A bowl for mixing and serving salad

2 1.0

A bowl used for eating breakfast cereal

finger bowl
  • Archaic
2 7.0

A small bowl of water for rinsing fingers between courses

1 7.5

A bowl that people use to collect money or food from others

bowl of cherries
  • Informal
1 6.0

A very pleasant situation

1 1.4

A clear round container to keep small pet fish

1 2.6

A bowl of rice served with toppings, or a person's job that gives them money

A serving of Japanese noodle soup with hot broth and toppings like meat or egg

A round clear glass container used to keep small pet fish

goldfish bowl
  • Informal
1 6.5

A situation where others watch you closely and you have no privacy

bowl chopper
  • Specialized
7.6

A machine that chops and mixes meat quickly with fast blades in a round bowl

bowl cutter
  • Specialized
6.1

A machine that chops and mixes meat and other food inside a spinning bowl

A portion of lau kui served hot in a bowl

4.6

A situation where many people watch you and you have no privacy

6.5

The round open part of a smoking pipe that holds tobacco

slop bowl
  • Archaic
9.1

A bowl for holding leftover tea or coffee from cups

8.2

A bowl for holding kitchen scraps to feed animals like pigs

Surface Forms

bowl singular
bowls plural

Etymology

Bowl as the heavy ball in lawn bowling is connected to the old word bolla, which is also like our word ball meaning a 'round object', so the name simply labels the round thing used in the game.