Meaning

• A weapon made of a curved piece of wood or other flexible material whose ends are connected by a string, used for shooting arrows.

• A curved bend in a rod or planar surface, or in a linear formation such as a river (see oxbow).

• A rod with horsehair (or an artificial substitute) stretched between the ends, used for playing various stringed musical instruments.

• A stringed instrument (chordophone), consisting of a stick with a single taut cord stretched between the ends, most often played by plucking.

• A type of knot with two loops, used to tie together two cords such as shoelaces or apron strings, and frequently used as decoration, such as in gift-wrapping.

• Anything bent or curved, such as a rainbow.

• The U-shaped piece which goes around the neck of an ox and fastens it to the yoke.

• Either of the arms of a pair of spectacles, running from the side of the lens to behind the wearer's ear.

• Any instrument consisting of an elastic rod, with ends connected by a string, employed for giving reciprocating motion to a drill, or for preparing and arranging hair, fur, etc., used by hatters.

• A crude sort of quadrant formerly used for taking the sun's altitude at sea.

• (saddlery) Two pieces of wood which form the arched forward part of a saddletree.

• The part of a key that is not inserted into the lock and that is used to turn the key.

Meaning

• To play music on (a stringed) instrument using a bow.

  "The musician bowed his violin expertly."

• To become bent or curved.

  "The shelf bowed under the weight of the books."

• To make something bend or curve.

• To exercise powerful or controlling influence over; to bend, figuratively; to turn; to incline.

• To premiere.

  "Cronenberg’s "Cosmopolis" bows in Cannes this week."