bow2
/bow/ • verb 1 bend the head or upper body as a sign of respect, greeting, or shame. 2 bend with age or under a heavy weight. 3 submit to pressure or demands. 4 (bow out) withdraw or retire from an activity. • noun an act of bowing. — PHRASES bow and scrape behave in an obsequious way. take a bow acknowledge applause by bowing. — ORIGIN Old English, bend, stoop ; related to BOW1.
Perform another search of the Compact Oxford English Dictionary
About this dictionary
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English contains 145,000 words, phrases, and definitions.
Find out more about Oxford's range of English dictionaries
Sign up for the AskOxford Word of the Day
Search the Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
Search the Concise Dictionary of First Names
| 
