bow out

verb

bowed out; bowing out; bows out

intransitive verb

: retire, withdraw

also : lose

bowed out in the first round of the tournament

Synonyms of bow out

• lose
• fall

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

In the shadow on the ground, your back bowed out unflatteringly, like a peasant’s hump. — Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2026

Harrison compared Becerra’s campaign to Biden’s in 2024 before the then-president bowed out of the race. — Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026

Keller went 10-1-1 in 1993, with a tie against Abilene Cooper (39-39) in Week 3, before bowing out in the second round of the playoffs. — Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Oct. 2026

The show will have a new host (Trevor Noah bowed out after six years) and will air/stream on new network platforms — ABC, Disney+ and Hulu — after the show ended a 54-year run on CBS. — Paul Grein, Billboard, 9 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for bow out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout