bow out

verb

bowed out; bowing out; bows out

intransitive verb

: retire, withdraw
also : lose
bowed out in the first round of the tournament

Examples of bow out in a Sentence

quite embarrassingly, the top-seeded player bowed out in the first round of competition
Recent Examples on the Web Concord said Thursday that its last offer was final and will not be increased, effectively bowing out of the bidding war. Elizabeth Dilts Marshall, Billboard, 9 May 2024 But the initial bowing out seemed to prompt a handful of challengers to enter the race for Indiana's 5th Congressional District. Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 7 May 2024 Merck has been the only U.S. purveyor of BCG since 2012, after Sanofi and another competitor bowed out due to manufacturing issues. Meghana Keshavan, STAT, 6 May 2024 As a result, his department now allows faculty assigned to teach potentially hot subjects like race and ethnicity to bow out. Laura Pappano, USA TODAY, 3 May 2024 Wall Street Journal Tesla’s top HR executive has bowed out of her role at the company as the car manufacturer continues layoffs. Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 2 May 2024 The two candidates entered the race to represent District 7, which is largely made up of UC Berkeley student voters, after Robinson stepped down and bowed out of the race for mayor earlier this year. Sierra Lopez, The Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2024 But the bitcoin mining companies that weather the storm and gain market share from those who have bowed out could reap enormous rewards, Matthew Sigel says. Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 17 Apr. 2024 First, Kendrick Lamar ignited a civil war between the Big 3, which now is down to Drake and Lamar after J. Cole politely bowed out this weekend at Dreamville Fest. Angel Diaz, Billboard, 8 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bow out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bow out was in 1942

Dictionary Entries Near bow out

Cite this Entry

“Bow out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bow%20out. Accessed 16 May. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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