bowl

[ bohl ]

/ boʊl /

noun

a rather deep, round dish or basin, used chiefly for holding liquids, food, etc.

the contents of a bowl: a bowl of tomato soup.

a rounded, cuplike, hollow part: the bowl of a pipe.

a large drinking cup.

festive drinking; conviviality.

any bowl-shaped depression or formation.

an edifice with tiers of seats forming sides like those of a bowl, having the arena at the bottom; stadium.

Also called bowl game. a football game played after the regular season by teams selected by the sponsors of the game, usually as representing the best from a region of the country: the Rose Bowl.

Typography. a curved or semicircular line of a character, as of a, d, b, etc.

verb (used with object)

to give (a floor) a gentle inclination on all sides toward some area, as a stage or platform.

Origin of bowl

before 950; Middle English bolle, Old English bolla; cognate with Old Norse bolli. See boll

OTHER WORDS FROM bowl

bowl·like, adjective

Words nearby bowl

bowie, bowie knife, bowie state, bowing, bowknot, bowl, bowl game, bowl of cherries, life is just a, bowl over, bowlder, bowldering

Definition for bowls (2 of 3)

bowl ²

[ bohl ]

/ boʊl /

noun

one of the balls, having little or no bias, used in playing ninepins or tenpins.

one of the biased or weighted balls used in lawn bowling.

bowls, (used with a singular verb) lawn bowling.

a delivery of the ball in bowling or lawn bowling.

(formerly) a rotating cylindrical part in a machine, as one to reduce friction.

verb (used without object)

to play at bowling or bowls; participate in or have a game or games of bowling.

to roll a bowl or ball.

to move along smoothly and rapidly.

Cricket. to deliver the ball to be played by the batsman.

verb (used with object)

to roll or trundle, as a ball or hoop.

to attain by bowling: He bowls a good game. She usually bowls a 120 game, but today she bowled 180.

to knock or strike, as by the ball in bowling (usually followed by over or down).

to carry or convey, as in a wheeled vehicle.

Cricket. to eliminate (a batsman) by bowling (usually followed by out): He was bowled for a duck. He was bowled out for a duck.

Verb Phrases

bowl over, to surprise greatly: We were bowled over by the news.

Origin of bowl

1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule < Middle French < Latin bulla bubble, knob; cf. boil¹, bola

Definition for bowls (3 of 3)

lawn bowling

noun

a game played with wooden balls on a level, closely mowed green having a slight bias, the object being to roll one's ball as near as possible to a smaller white ball at the other end of the green. Also called bowls, bowling on the green.Compare bowl²(def 2), bowling green, jack¹(def 7), rink(def 5).

Origin of lawn bowling

First recorded in 1925–30

Example sentences from the Web for bowls

Two bowls were set before the infant—one containing gold and jewels, the other hot coals.

Jon Stewart and 'Meet The Press' Would Have Been One Unhappy Marriage |Lloyd Grove |October 9, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
All that grows now is a beautiful double jasmine of which I have bowls full every day, and zinnias, ugly and useful.

Gertrude of Arabia, the Woman Who Invented Iraq |Clive Irving |June 17, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
“In 28 days, I visited 21 different cities and ate 55 bowls of ramen,” he says.

Ramen Burger’s Inventor Talks About the Food Craze Eclipsing the Cronut |Marlow Stern |August 9, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
There is a steady flow of bowls of warm water, soapy and clear, delivered by a stream of helpers.

Inside a Home Funeral |Melissa Roberts Weidman |February 5, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

League owners awarded the 2004 and 2006 bowls to Houston and Detroit because taxpayers funded new stadiums in those cities.

Why the NFL Has Awarded Super Bowl 2014 to Cold-Weather East Rutherford |Evan Weiner |February 5, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Nature intended him to play at bowls, and therefore clapt a bias upon him.

Curiosities of Literature, Vol. II (of 3) |Isaac Disraeli
Piles of wicker baskets were loaded with huge yellow cheeses, and there were many copper milk pails and bowls brimful of whey.

The Adventures of Ulysses the Wanderer |Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull
And when he looked around him he saw a house full of light, with cups and horns and bowls of different sorts in it.

Gods and Fighting Men |Lady I. A. Gregory
The Seer is summoned by one of the angels that had the seven Bowls to behold a spectacle which fills him with a great marvelling.

The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Revelation |William Milligan
On an ancient mahogany sideboard were various bottles and bowls of punch.

Mistress Anne |Temple Bailey

British Dictionary definitions for bowls (1 of 3)

bowls

/ (bəʊlz) /

noun (functioning as singular)

a game played on a bowling green in which a small bowl (the jack) is pitched from a mark and two opponents or opposing teams take turns to roll biased wooden bowls towards it, the object being to finish as near the jack as possible
(as modifier)a bowls tournament

skittles or tenpin bowling

British Dictionary definitions for bowls (2 of 3)

bowl ¹

/ (bəʊl) /

noun

a round container open at the top, used for holding liquid, keeping fruit, serving food, etc

Also: bowlful the amount a bowl will hold

the rounded or hollow part of an object, esp of a spoon or tobacco pipe

any container shaped like a bowl, such as a sink or lavatory

mainly US a bowl-shaped building or other structure, such as a football stadium or amphitheatre

a bowl-shaped depression of the land surface See also dust bowl

literary

a drinking cup
intoxicating drink

Word Origin for bowl

Old English bolla; related to Old Norse bolli, Old Saxon bollo

British Dictionary definitions for bowls (3 of 3)

bowl ²

/ (bəʊl) /

noun

a wooden ball used in the game of bowls, having flattened sides, one side usually being flatter than the other in order to make it run on a curved course

a large heavy ball with holes for gripping with the fingers and thumb, used in tenpin bowling

verb

to roll smoothly or cause to roll smoothly, esp by throwing underarm along the ground

(intr usually foll by along) to move easily and rapidly, as in a car

cricket

to send (a ball) down the pitch from one's hand towards the batsman, keeping the arm straight while doing so
Also: bowl out to dismiss (a batsman) by delivering a ball that breaks his wicket

(intr) to play bowls or tenpin bowling

(tr) (in tenpin bowling) to score (a specified amount) he bowled 120

Word Origin for bowl

C15: from French boule, ultimately from Latin bulla bubble

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

bowl

noun

verb (used with object)

Origin of bowl

OTHER WORDS FROM bowl

Words nearby bowl

Definition for bowls (2 of 3)

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

Verb Phrases

Origin of bowl

Definition for bowls (3 of 3)

noun

Origin of lawn bowling

Example sentences from the Web for bowls

British Dictionary definitions for bowls (1 of 3)

noun (functioning as singular)

British Dictionary definitions for bowls (2 of 3)

noun

Word Origin for bowl

British Dictionary definitions for bowls (3 of 3)

noun

verb

Word Origin for bowl

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

bowl

noun

verb (used with object)

Origin of bowl

OTHER WORDS FROM bowl

Words nearby bowl

Definition for bowls (2 of 3)

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

Verb Phrases

Origin of bowl

Definition for bowls (3 of 3)

noun

Origin of lawn bowling

Words related to bowls

Example sentences from the Web for bowls

British Dictionary definitions for bowls (1 of 3)

noun (functioning as singular)

British Dictionary definitions for bowls (2 of 3)

noun

Word Origin for bowl

British Dictionary definitions for bowls (3 of 3)

noun

verb

Word Origin for bowl