bow

bow1

noun

a knot tied with two loops and two loose ends, used especially for tying shoelaces and decorative ribbons

Bow tie, hoop decorative knot, bow tie

a girl with long hair tied back in a bow.

Long hair ends with a butterfly at the back of the head girl.

■a decorative ribbon tied in such a knot

butterfly ribbon

a weapon for shooting arrows, typically made of a curved piece of wood joined at both ends by a taut string

bow

a long, partially curved rod with horsehair stretched along its length, used for playing the violin and other stringed instruments

of a stringed instrument bow, piano bow

■a single passage of such a rod over the strings

(pulled with a piano bow) a piece of (music)

a thing that is bent or curved in shape, in particular

bend; arc-shaped object, especially

■a curved stroke forming part of a letter (e.g. b, p)

A bend of a letter

■a metal ring forming the handle of a key or pair of scissors

(key, scissors, etc.) metal ring handle, round carrying ring

■(N. Amer.) a side piece or lens frame of a pair of glasses

(North America) spectacle frame or frame

verb

[with obj.]play (a stringed instrument or music) using a bow

use a bow to pull (the piano)

Common phrases

have (or add) another string to one's bow

(Brit.)have a further resource that one can make use of

(UK) back-up plan; second-hand preparation

have many strings to one's bow

(Brit.) have a wide range of resources that one can make use of

(Brit.) have both hands prepared

Etymology

Old English boga 'bend, bow, arch', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch boog and German Bogen, also to bow