bow

bow is a 3-letter English word with 37 senses as transitive verb, intransitive verb, noun, and verb in the JumbleFix dictionary. One common meaning is: To cause to deviate from straightness; to bend; to inflect; to make crooked or curved. Face value is 8 in Scrabble and 9 in Words With Friends. Use the entries below when you need a playable sense, a nearby word, or another arrangement of the same letters.

3 letters · Scrabble 8 · Words With Friends 9 · 37 senses

Definitions

1. transitive verb. To cause to deviate from straightness; to bend; to inflect; to make crooked or curved.
2. transitive verb. To exercise powerful or controlling influence over; to bend, figuratively; to turn; to incline.
3. transitive verb. To bend or incline, as the head or body, in token of respect, gratitude, assent, homage, or condescension.
4. transitive verb. To cause to bend down; to prostrate; to depress,;/ to crush; to subdue.
5. transitive verb. To express by bowing; as, to bow one's thanks.
6. intransitive verb. To bend; to curve.
7. intransitive verb. To stop.
8. intransitive verb. To bend the head, knee, or body, in token of reverence or submission; -- often with down.
9. intransitive verb. To incline the head in token of salutation, civility, or assent; to make bow.
10. noun. An inclination of the head, or a bending of the body, in token of reverence, respect, civility, or submission; an obeisance; as, a bow of deep humility.
11. transitive verb. Anything bent, or in the form of a curve, as the rainbow.
12. transitive verb. A weapon made of a strip of wood, or other elastic material, with a cord connecting the two ends, by means of which an arrow is propelled.
13. transitive verb. An ornamental knot, with projecting loops, formed by doubling a ribbon or string.
14. transitive verb. The U-shaped piece which embraces the neck of an ox and fastens it to the yoke.
15. transitive verb. An appliance consisting of an elastic rod, with a number of horse hairs stretched from end to end of it, used in playing on a stringed instrument.
16. transitive verb. An arcograph.
17. transitive verb. Any instrument consisting of an elastic rod, with ends connected by a string, employed for giving reciprocating motion to a drill, or for preparing and arranging the hair, fur, etc., used by hatters.
18. transitive verb. A rude sort of quadrant formerly used for taking the sun's altitude at sea.
19. sing or plural. Two pieces of wood which form the arched forward part of a saddletree.
20. intransitive verb. To play (music) with a bow.
21. intransitive verb. To manage the bow.
22. noun. The bending or rounded part of a ship forward; the stream or prow.
23. noun. One who rows in the forward part of a boat; the bow oar.
24. noun. a stroke with a curved piece of wood with taut horsehair strands that is used in playing stringed instruments
25. noun. a slightly curved piece of resilient wood with taut horsehair strands; used in playing certain stringed instruments
26. noun. a weapon for shooting arrows, composed of a curved piece of resilient wood with a taut cord to propel the arrow
27. noun. front part of a vessel or aircraft

    "he pointed the bow of the boat toward the finish line"

    Synonyms: fore, prow, stem

28. noun. a knot with two loops and loose ends; used to tie shoelaces

    Synonyms: bowknot

29. noun. a decorative interlacing of ribbons
30. noun. an appearance by actors or performers at the end of the concert or play in order to acknowledge the applause of the audience
31. noun. bending the head or body or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting

    Synonyms: bowing, obeisance

32. noun. something curved in shape

    Synonyms: arc

33. verb. yield to another's wish or opinion

    "The government bowed to the military pressure"

    Synonyms: accede, defer, submit

34. verb. bend one's knee or body, or lower one's head

    "He bowed before the King"

    "She bowed her head in shame"

35. verb. play on a string instrument with a bow
36. verb. bend the head or the upper part of the body in a gesture of respect or greeting

    "He bowed before the King"

37. verb. bend one's back forward from the waist on down

    "he crouched down"

    "She bowed before the Queen"

    Synonyms: bend, crouch, stoop

Synonyms

fore, prow, stem, bowknot, bowing, obeisance, arc, accede, defer, submit, bend, crouch, stoop

Anagrams

Other playable words that use exactly the letters in bow:

wob

Common word forms

bows, bowed, bower, bowly, bowing, bowable, bowless

Words from these letters

If you are holding these tiles, the unscrambler for BOW lists every valid word you can make from the same letters, including shorter plays.