bowl over

verb

bowled over; bowling over; bowls over

transitive verb

1

: to take unawares

2

: impress entry 1 sense 1

Synonyms of bowl over

• surprise
• amaze
• stun
• shock
• startle
• take aback
• take by surprise
• astonish

Examples of bowl over in a Sentence

she was bowled over to learn that she had a long-lost sister

Recent Examples on the Web

Many of the selections struggled to bowl over critics. — Jake Coyle, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2026

So far, the league appears to be taking a slower path, rather than trying to bowl over players at the outset. — Evan Drellich, New York Times, 25 June 2026

Here are the details on cheeseboard-worthy nuts that will leave you refilling the bowl over and over, and the sad, crunched up, disrespected nuts that should remain on the shelf. — Jolene Thym, Mercury News, 15 May 2026

When ready to serve, unwrap the top of the cake and place a cake plate over the top of the bowl Turn the bowl over to release the cake and gently pull back the plastic wrap and discard it. — Mary Ann Esposito, Boston Herald, 18 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1861, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for bowl over

• carryover
• changeover
• crossover
• cutover
• flashover
• hangover
• holdover
• layover
• leftover
• makeover
• moreover
• passover

Kids Definition

bowl over

verb

1

: to hit and knock down while quickly moving past

2

: to greatly surprise or impress