bowl Hear it!

bowl¹ Definition

bowl (bōl)

noun

  1. a deep, rounded container or dish, open at the top
  2. the capacity or contents of a bowl
  3. a thing or part shaped like a bowl; specif.,
    1. the rounded or hollow part of a spoon or smoking pipe
    2. washbowl
    3. the basin of a toilet
    4. a hollow land formation
  4. ☆
    1. an amphitheater or stadium
    2. any of various football games played annually after the regular season between teams selected for their superior records
  5. Archaic a large drinking vessel

Etymology: ME bolle < OE bolla, cup, bowl < IE base *bhel-, to swell, inflate (see ball); infl. in OE by L bulla, bubble, ball

bowl¹ Related Forms
bowl′·like′ adjective
bowl² Definition

bowl (bōl)

noun

  1. the wooden ball rolled at the target ball, or jack, in the game of lawn bowling: it is weighted or shaped to give it a bias when rolling
  2. a roll of the ball in bowling or lawn bowling
  3. a roller, drum, or wheel, as in some machines

Etymology: ME & OFr boule < L bulla, bubble, knob: see boil

intransitive verb

  1. to participate or take a turn in bowling or lawn bowling
  2. to roll a ball with an underhand motion, as in bowling or lawn bowling
  3. to move swiftly and smoothly the car bowled steadily along
  4. Cricket to throw a ball to the batsman

transitive verb

  1. to throw so as to make roll; roll
  2. to make a score of in bowling to bowl 180
  3. to cause to move along swiftly and smoothly, as on wheels
  4. Cricket to put (a batsman out) by bowling the balls off the wicket

bowl² Idioms

bowl over

  1. to knock over with or as with something rolled
  2. Informal to astonish and confuse; stagger the election results bowled them over
bowl Synonyms

bowl

n.

dish, vessel, tureen, pot, porringer, saucer, crock, jar, urn, pan, basin, casserole, boat, vase; see also china, container, dish.

bowl Synonyms

bowl

v.

play ninepins, play tenpins, play duckpins, play candlepins, roll, play at bowling, play at bowls.

bowl Usage Examples

Object

  • alley: Non-skiing activities Natural Ice rink, bowling alley, sports center with squash and indoor tennis, hang gliding, rock climbing.
  • maiden: Alex Thomas then put together two very tight overs, going for only three off his first and bowling a maiden for his second.

Converse of object

  • beg: Most of the African countries doing the rounds with begging bowls are not necessarily poor at all.
  • mix: Drain well, then tip into a mixing bowl.

Adjective modifier

  • heatproof: Place in a heatproof bowl along with 1 cinnamon stick.
  • earthenware: The funnel shaped earthenware bowl in buff color, bears the design of a mountain goat drawn around it skillfully.
  • shallow: Cover a shallow salad bowl with pieces of the prepared bread.
  • super: Last super bowl with a total land-based gaming no limit pot.

Modifies a noun

  • sink: Inset stainless steel 1.5 bowl sink and drainer with mixer tap over.
  • whisk: In a small bowl whisk together the remaining spicy nut ingredients.
  • barrow: The tumulus surveyed is considered as being a pond barrow, but closer examination would suggest it is probably a robbed bowl barrow.

Noun used with modifier

  • hollywood: Should you not have a credit/debit card, please contact your local hollywood bowl direct.
  • goldfish: Lots of people keep goldfish in a goldfish bowl, but you should use a tank because a bowl is really too small.
  • washing-up: Use 3-4 drops of Ha-Ra® Protective Formula in the washing-up bowl or sink.
  • salad: Cover a shallow salad bowl with pieces of the prepared bread.

Preposition: of

  • porridge: This demon shall approach you offering a bowl of porridge.
  • soup: A whole meal in one bowl of soup for 1.50 pounds!
  • cereal: The reality is grim; washing everywhere, toys underfoot, spilled bowls of cereal ( " It wasn't ME, Mommy!
  • pasta: I had another bowl of pasta - this stuff is rapidly losing its appeal for me - and tomato sauce.
  • salad: Alternatively, serve your sarnie with a bowl of salad.
bowl Quotes

Awake! for Morning in the bowl of night Has flung the stone that puts the stars to flight: And Lo! the Hunter of the East has caught The Sultan's turret in a noose of light.

—Fitzgerald, Edward

The simple dignity of a child drinking a bowl of milk embodies the fascination of an ancient rite.

—Sandburg, Carl

I sing the sweets I know, the charms I feel, My morning incense, and my evening meal, The sweets of Hasty-Pudding.Come, dear bowl, Glide o'er my palate, and inspire my soul.

—Barlow,Joel

The cowboys had lived for months under the great bowl of the sky, and yet the Montana skies seemed deeper than the skies of Texas or Nebraska. Their depth and blueness robbed even the sun of its harsh forceöit seemed smaller, in the vastness, and the whole sky no longer turned white at noon as it had in the lower plains. Always, somewhere to the north, there was a swath of blueness, with white cloads floating in it like petals in a pond. 537

—McMurtry, LarryJeff

A scoop of pure honey set in a green bowl.

—Smith, Godfrey

I bowl so slow that if after I have delivered the ball and don't like the lookof it,I can run after it and bring it back.

—Barrie, SirJ(ames) M(atthew)

Does the eagle know what's in the pit Or wilt thou go ask the mole? Can wisdom be put in a silver rod, Or Love in a golden bowl.

—Blake,William

Let onion atoms lurk within the bowl, And, half-suspected, animate the whole.

—Smith, Rev Sydney

The fellows were practising long shies and bowling lobs and slow twisters. In the soft grey silence he could hear the bump of the balls: and from here and from there through the quiet air the sound of the cricket bats: pick, pack, pock, puck: like drops of water in a fountain falling softly in the brimming bowl.

—Joyce,James Augustine Aloysius

Browse dictionary entries near bowl

  1. ‹ bowknot
  2. ‹ bowing
  3. ‹ bowie knife
  4. ‹ Bowie bond
  5. ‹ bowhunting
  6. ‹ bowhead
  7. ‹ bowfin
  8. ‹ bowery
  9. ‹ bowerbird
  10. ‹ bower
  1. bowl along ›
  2. bowl over ›
  3. bowlder ›
  4. bowleg ›
  5. bowlegged ›
  6. bowler ›
  7. bowline ›
  8. bowling ›
  9. bowling alley ›
  10. bowling green ›