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
Jones filed to run for the Zone 4 board seat in 2020, but bowed out of the race prior to the election.
—
Edward McKinnon, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2025
Despite a strong regular season and some analysts projecting another potential title push, the Lakers bowed out early in the playoffs, losing 4-1 in the first round to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
—Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
Max Joseph would eventually bow out and the show was cohosted by a rotating panel of personalities in 2018, but would ultimately be replaced by former beauty queen and television personality Kamie Crawford.
—Sumayya Tobah, Essence, 15 Oct. 2025
Audi — never one to truly push hard into the proper luxury coupe market, but always working around its edges — has bowed out of the two-door market entirely.
—Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bow out
Edward McKinnon, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2025
Despite a strong regular season and some analysts projecting another potential title push, the Lakers bowed out early in the playoffs, losing 4-1 in the first round to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
—Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
Max Joseph would eventually bow out and the show was cohosted by a rotating panel of personalities in 2018, but would ultimately be replaced by former beauty queen and television personality Kamie Crawford.
—Sumayya Tobah, Essence, 15 Oct. 2025
Audi — never one to truly push hard into the proper luxury coupe market, but always working around its edges — has bowed out of the two-door market entirely.
—Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bow out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bow out
Verb
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Tamra’s hanging in Big Bear, Jenn is planning a wedding, and Heather lost $6 million on a house.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
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Others have turned toward the distant past to understand what has been lost and assess what can be recovered.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And King Priam, at great personal risk, shows up with a ransom and falls on his knees and clasps Achilles’ hand.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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As Semafor previously reported, many inside the magazine were excited by Guiducci’s arrival, believing the old Vanity Fair was moving too slowly, had fallen too far outside the zeitgeist, and had lost some of its sheen.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bow out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bow%20out. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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