as in to lose
to undergo defeat
quite embarrassingly, the top-seeded player bowed out in the first round of competition
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Recent Examples of bow out
The band remained steadfast in the commitment despite many other acts bowing out.
—
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 8 Feb. 2026
Austin Beutner bowed out of the race due to the death of his 22-year-old daughter.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Savannah Guthrie, who has bowed out of hosting NBC’s Winter Olympics coverage in light of the disappearance, spoke directly to her mother in the video.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 5 Feb. 2026
McCaffrey was relied upon more than ever as the San Francisco powered through a litany of injuries to top players to finish the season 12-5, beating the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round before bowing out in the divisional round.
—Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bow out
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 8 Feb. 2026
Austin Beutner bowed out of the race due to the death of his 22-year-old daughter.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Savannah Guthrie, who has bowed out of hosting NBC’s Winter Olympics coverage in light of the disappearance, spoke directly to her mother in the video.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 5 Feb. 2026
McCaffrey was relied upon more than ever as the San Francisco powered through a litany of injuries to top players to finish the season 12-5, beating the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round before bowing out in the divisional round.
—Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bow out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bow out
Verb
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The Sun Belt is the only real exception, having now defined itself as FBS’ actual Southeastern conference, partly by losing its former oddballs like Idaho and New Mexico State.—
Jason Kirk,
New York Times,
18 Feb. 2026
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The Nuggets wound up losing Alex English to a thumb injury in Game 4 of those finals, and the Lakers took the series in five.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The wait time can fall anywhere between six minutes and six hours.—
Jessica Chapel,
Condé Nast Traveler,
15 Feb. 2026
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Dua Lipa and Callum Turner, as a powerhouse couple, that fall more in step with the likes of Hailey and Justin Bieber’s individual style statements than, say, Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet’s joint method dressing.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
15 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bow out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bow%20out. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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