Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - bow

~1 v 1 to bend the top part of your body forward in order to show respect for someone important + before/to etc  (He bowed before the king.) 2 to bend your body over something, especially in order to see it more closely + over  (Professor Teague sat at his desk, bowed over a book.)  | bow your head (=bend your neck so that you are looking at the ground) | bow your head in shame  (Phil stood there, his head bowed in shame.) 3 be bowed (under sth) to be bent because you are carrying something heavy on your back 4 bow and scrape to show too much respect to someone in authority bow down ~ phr v 1 to bend forward from your waist, especially when you are already kneeling, in order to show respect + before/to etc  (Maria bowed down before the statue.) 2 bow down to sb literary to let someone give you orders or tell you what to do bow out ~ phr v 1 to stop taking part in an activity, job etc, especially one that you have been doing for a long time  (bow out of sth)  (Reeves thinks it is time for him to bow out of politics.) 2 to not do something that you have promised or agreed to do bow to sb/sth ~ phr v to finally agree to do something that people want you to, even though you do not want to do it  (Congress may bow to public pressure and lift the arms embargo.) ~2 n 1 the act of bending the top part of your body forward to show respect for someone 2 also bows the front part of a ship  (- compare stern2) 3 take a bow if someone takes a bow, they come on the stage at the end of a performance so that people can applaud them ~3 n 1 a weapon used for shooting arrows (arrow (1)), made of a long thin curved piece of wood 2 a knot of cloth or string with a curved part on either side, used especially for decoration  (Ella wore a big bow in her hair.) 3 a long thin piece of wood with a tight string fastened along it, used to play musical instruments that have strings 4 bow legs legs that curve outwards at the knees  (- see also have more than one string to your bow string1 (8)) ~4 v 1 to bend or curve 2 to play a piece of music on a musical instrument with a bow3 (3)