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
Parton, 79, bowed out of the spotlight for a spell following the March death of Carl Dean, her husband of 60 years.
—
Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 24 June 2025
Jones bows out Jon Jones, 37, who laid claim to being the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time, announced his retirement over the weekend.
—Jade Walker, CNN Money, 23 June 2025
If an existing bed is bowing out, add a cross piece or drive rebar rods into the soil along the exterior of the bed.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 June 2025
By the time the series bowed out, in July 2020, Netflix was trading at $485 a share and boasted 182.9 million clients worldwide.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for bow out
Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 24 June 2025
Jones bows out Jon Jones, 37, who laid claim to being the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time, announced his retirement over the weekend.
—Jade Walker, CNN Money, 23 June 2025
If an existing bed is bowing out, add a cross piece or drive rebar rods into the soil along the exterior of the bed.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 June 2025
By the time the series bowed out, in July 2020, Netflix was trading at $485 a share and boasted 182.9 million clients worldwide.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for bow out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bow out
Verb
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Los Angeles County, which stood to lose nearly $20 million in annual federal HIV prevention funding, was looking at terminating contracts with 39 providers.—
Susanne Rust,
Los Angeles Times,
27 June 2025
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According to the Office of Inspector General, more than 13,000 widows and widowers collectively have lost $130 million in Social Security benefits because of mistakes in claiming spousal benefits.—
John C. Goodman,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Verb
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Monthly spending has also fallen by almost $20 year-over-year.—
Jon Kirchner,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
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However, that strategy could fall flat if Cuomo keeps his campaign alive.—
Emily Hallas,
The Washington Examiner,
27 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bow out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bow%20out. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
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