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
Organizers offered no information as to why Iran had decided to bow out.
—
News Desk, Artforum, 4 May 2026
Eventually, Caruso bowed out of both contests and Bass wound up, instead, with an opponent from the left, City Councilmember Nithya Raman.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 1 May 2026
But eventually, Paramount offered more money and Netflix abruptly bowed out of the race rather than prolonging the fight.
—Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
Swalwell, who has denied the allegations, had shown signs of momentum in polls before bowing out.
—Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bow out
News Desk, Artforum, 4 May 2026
Eventually, Caruso bowed out of both contests and Bass wound up, instead, with an opponent from the left, City Councilmember Nithya Raman.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 1 May 2026
But eventually, Paramount offered more money and Netflix abruptly bowed out of the race rather than prolonging the fight.
—Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
Swalwell, who has denied the allegations, had shown signs of momentum in polls before bowing out.
—Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bow out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bow out
Verb
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After the particularly disturbing Game 3 loss, when the Avs lost for only the second time in 76 playoff games when leading by three goals, Colorado resorted to whimpering.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
27 May 2026
-
The Red Sox lost their fourth straight game on Tuesday, falling 7-6 to the Atlanta Braves thanks in large part to a pair of two-run home runs by Matt Olson and Michael Harris II.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
Demuth led the field through four ballots, but after Lindell failed to advance to the fifth ballot, Qualls took the lead and the number of votes cast fell.—
Jimmy Lovrien,
Twin Cities,
31 May 2026
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In a recent interview with The Times of London, Niall Horan opened up about the death of his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne, who died in 2024 at the age of 31 after falling three floors from a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
30 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bow out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bow%20out. Accessed 1 Jun. 2026.
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