bow
Word family adjectivebowedbowbentnounbowingbowyerbowfinbowheadbowknotbowmanbowsawbowshotbowstringbow tiebow windowbowerverbbow
bow1 /baʊ/ ●●○ verb → bough
1 [intransitiveI]BEND to bend the top part of your body forward in order to show respect for someone important, or as a way of thanking an audience 鞠躬
She bowed and left the stage.
她鞠了一躬，离开了舞台。
Corbett entered the room, bowing respectfully.
科比特走进房间，恭敬地鞠了一躬。
The servant bowed low and handed his master the sealed note.
仆人深深一鞠躬，把那个封好的短笺递给了主人。
bow before/to
→5 see picture at 见图 bend1 He bowed before the king.
他向国王躬身行礼。
2 bow your head to bend your neck so that you are looking at the ground, especially because you want to show respect for God, or because you are embarrassed or upset 低头
She bowed her head and prayed.
她低头祈祷。
Phil stood, his head bowed in shame.
菲尔站在那里，羞愧地低着头。
Examples from the Corpus
bow your head• Jerry stood there with his head bowed in shame.• When she finished he gave a short laugh and bowed his head.• He watched open-mouthed as Alice bowed her head and her eyes, her gloriously blue eyes, opened fully.• I bowed my head and prayed.• She again bows her head and sniffs for more apples.• The other Women bowed their heads, and the silence lengthened, broken only by the murmuring of the huge trees.• The man bowed his head as if in prayer.• With that, doctor and patient joined hands and bowed their heads as Keys prayed.• Lilly winced, and Mandon gravely bowed his head in acknowledgment.• I bow my head in shame when I think of the countries we've looted and the people we've subjugated.
3 [intransitiveI, transitiveT]BEND to bend your body over something, especially in order to see it more closely 〔尤指为靠近些看〕俯（身），欠（身）
bow over
Teague sat at his desk, bowed over a book.
蒂格坐在桌子旁边，欠着身子看书。
4 BEND[intransitiveI, transitiveT] to bend, or to make something bend （使）弯曲
The trees bowed in the wind.
树木被风吹弯了腰。
His back was bowed under the weight of the heavy bag.
沉重的包压得他背都弯了。
5. bow and scrape OBEYto show too much respect to someone in authority – used to show disapproval 点头哈腰，卑躬屈膝〔含贬义〕
Examples from the Corpus
bow and scrape• The Oistrakhs bow and scrape in evening dress, on Emi-tape.
6 bow down phrasal verbphr v
a) BENDto bend your body forward, especially when you are already kneeling, in order to show respect （跪）拜
before/to etc
Maria bowed down before the statue.
玛丽亚拜倒在塑像前。
Come, let us bow down in worship.
来吧，让我们来跪地敬拜。
b) bow down to somebody literaryOBEY to let someone give you orders or tell you what to do – used to show disapproval 向某人屈服；屈从于某人〔含贬义〕
Examples from the Corpus
bow before/to etc• The women and children now catch up their master, and each group in turn bows down before Esau.• But still, because he does not bow down before his own popularity, he retains a certain distance.• And bowed down to resume his strange rump-in-the-air and face-in-the-sea posture.• Thou hast made a graven image and Jeroboam-like wouldst have everyone else bow down before thy calf.• Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you.
bow down to somebody• And bowed down to resume his strange rump-in-the-air and face-in-the-sea posture.• Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you.
7 bow out phrasal verbphr v
a) STOP DOING somethingto stop taking part in an activity, job etc, especially one that you have been doing for a long time （从…）退出，退场；辞职
of
Reeves thinks it is time for him to bow out of politics.
里夫斯认为他应该退出政坛了。
b) DOto not do something that you have promised or agreed to do 食言
of
You’re not trying to bow out of this, are you?
这事你不会说话不算数吧？
Examples from the Corpus
bow of• But another clone wannabe bowed out of the game Tuesday.
bow of• But another clone wannabe bowed out of the game Tuesday.
8 bow to somebody/something phrasal verbphr v AGREEto finally agree to do something, even though you do not want to do it 向…让步，屈服于
Congress may bow to public pressure and lift the arms embargo.
国会也许会屈服于公众的压力，解除武器禁运。
Myers finally bowed to the inevitable (=accepted something he could not change) and withdrew from the campaign.
迈尔斯最后迫于无奈，退出了这场竞选。
Examples from the Corpus
bowed to the inevitable• I sighed and bowed to the inevitable.• He finally bowed to the inevitable after 61 minutes, when he was visibly hobbling around.• The Government bowed to the inevitable after other countries threatened to outvote it.• Last week Chen's company bowed to the inevitable and closed its doors.
Examples from the Corpus
bow• Archer bowed and left the stage.• They bowed and waited for the mayor to speak first.• All the men turned and bowed as the Emperor passed.• The women and children now catch up their master, and each group in turn bows down before Esau.• But another clone wannabe bowed out of the game Tuesday.• Willie turned to face the fire, his head bowed over the range.• When he made his rounds on a light-gray donkey, people bowed their heads and dared not look at his face.• I sighed and bowed to the inevitable.• The Prime Minister, however, was simply bowing to the inevitable.
bow before/to• I saw him bow to an ugly Virgin.• But more than 60 countries, and perhaps 15m golfers, bow to the R&A's authority.• Then, turning back, he made a final bow to the row of tiny images.• They were just three wires joined at the ends, with only the slightest bow to them.• The boats leaned, a kind of bow to your partner.
bow over• Dr. Harris is usually in the lab, bowed over a microscope.
Water
bow2 /baʊ/ ●●○ noun → bough1 BEND[countableC] the act of bending the top part of your body forward to show respect for someone when you meet them, or as a way of thanking an audience 鞠躬
take/give a bow (=bow to the audience at the end of a performance) 〔表演结束后〕鞠躬致谢，谢幕
The music ended and the girl took a bow.
音乐结束，女孩鞠躬致谢。
He gave a final bow just as the curtains came down.
帷幕落下时，他鞠了最后一躬。
This is done with a formal bow to the king or queen.
与此同时，还要向国王或女王正式鞠躬行礼。
2. (also bows [plural]) [countableC]TTW the front part of a ship 船头，艏 → stern, yacht
Examples from the Corpus
bow• She had a red bow in her hair.
formal bow• Before entering it, a student must make a formal bow at the doorway as a mark of respect.• This is done with a formal bow.• The students then stoop to sit on their heels and issue another formal bow before standing and beginning the lesson.
Weapons, Clothes & fashion, Music
bow3 /bəʊ/ noun [countableC] → beau1 
PMWa weapon used for shooting arrows, made of a long thin piece of wood held in a curve by a tight string 弓
PMWa weapon used for shooting arrows, made of a long thin piece of wood held in a curve by a tight string 弓 a bow and arrow
弓箭
2 DCa knot of cloth or string, with a curved part on either side and two loose ends, worn in the hair as decoration or for tying shoelaces 蝴蝶结
Ella wore a bow in her hair.
埃拉头发上扎着一个蝴蝶结。
in a bow
long chestnut hair tied back in a bow
用蝴蝶结束在脑后的红棕色长发
3. APMa long thin piece of wood with a tight string fastened along it, used to play musical instruments such as the violin or cello 〔弦乐器的〕弓；琴弓
→ have more than one string to your bow at string1(8)Examples from the Corpus
bow• An ivory quiver hung upon her left shoulder and in her hand was a bow.• That night, another of my presents was a bow tie.• We learn bow to learn, how to find out, what the general concepts are.• He tucked his letter inside the pink bow.• Her blonde hair was pulled back into a smooth chignon and tied with a yellow silk bow.• Moorish infantry and cavalry, armed with bows, swords and spears, and carrying small round shields.
bow and arrow• Grave goods included a necklace, a bow and arrows, a glass cup and a wooden comb.• More sophisticated weapons like throwing sticks and bows and arrows came only after a further long period of brain development.• We did not have a blowgun on Hsu Fu but we soon had a bamboo bow and arrow.• For self-defence therefore the sworn foresters were allowed to carry bows and arrows in the forest.• Then Herb, Junior, had taken his bow and arrow and wounded one of the beasts in the hindquarters.• They brandish the ancient weapons of the Dani tribe that dominates this valley: bows and arrows, spears and crude knives.• They still hunt with bows and arrows.• The year-round hunting was great, even though we had to do it with bows and arrows.
in a bow• Armament comprised three.303in Lewis machine-guns mounted on Scarf ring-mountings, one each in bow, midships and tail positions.• I tried to interest him in bow ties.• A fat man in a bow tie tapped the register.• Can you tie them in a knot, can you tie them in a bow.
Music
bow4 /bəʊ/ verb → beau1.[intransitiveI, transitiveT]APM to play a piece of music on a musical instrument with a bow3 用弓拉奏〔乐曲〕
Examples from the Corpus
bow• He took his had off and bowed slightly.• When he made his rounds on a light-gray donkey, people bowed their heads and dared not look at his face.