Bowl Definition

bōl
bowled, bowling, bowls
noun
bowls
A hemispherical vessel, wider than it is deep, used for holding food or fluids.
American Heritage
A deep, rounded container or dish, open at the top.
Webster's New World
The contents of such a vessel.
American Heritage
A bowl-shaped part, as of a spoon or pipe.
American Heritage
A drinking goblet.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
verb
bowled, bowling, bowls
To throw so as to make roll; roll.
Webster's New World
To participate or take a turn in bowling or lawn bowling.
Webster's New World
To roll a ball with an underhand motion, as in bowling or lawn bowling.
Webster's New World
To hurl a cricket ball from one end of the pitch toward the batsman at the other, keeping the arm straight throughout the delivery.
American Heritage
To cause to move along swiftly and smoothly, as on wheels.
Webster's New World
idiom
bowl over
  • to knock over with or as with something rolled
  • to astonish or amaze, thrill or delight, etc.

    the election results bowled them over

Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Bowl

Noun

Singular:
bowl
Plural:
bowls

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Bowl

Origin of Bowl

  • From Middle English bolle, from Old English bolla, bolle (“bowl, cup, pot, beaker, measure”), from Proto-Germanic *bullô, *bullǭ (“ball, round vessel, bowl”), from Proto-Indo-European *bhl-, from Proto-Indo-European *bhel- (“to blow, inflate, swell, bubble”). Cognate with North Frisian bol (“bun, bread roll”), Middle Low German bolle, bole (“round object”), Dutch bol (“ball, sphere, scoop, dot”), German Bolle (“bulb”), Danish bolle (“bowl, bread roll”), Icelandic bolli (“cup”).

    From Wiktionary

  • From Middle English bowle, boule, from Old French boule (“ball”), from Latin bulla (“bubble, stud, round object”), from Proto-Indo-European *bōul- (“bubble, round object”). Cognate with Middle Low German poll (“head, top, summit”). More at poll.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English bowle from Old English bolla bhel-2 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English boule from Old French from Latin bulla round object

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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