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
Coach Mark Few’s Zags bowed out in the second round for the second straight year after reaching the Sweet 16 in nine consecutive tournaments, a run that included two losses in the national title game.
—
Anne M. Peterson, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
After all, most focus was on news from the WBD board later in the earnings day that David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance’s best and final takeover offer for the company was superior to Netflix, leading the streamer to bow out of the bidding.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 17 Mar. 2026
The Musketeers took out Texas in the First Four before bowing out against Illinois in the first round.
—Cedric Golden, Austin American Statesman, 16 Mar. 2026
Only one candidate — former Assemblymember Ian Calderon — bowed out as a result of the letter.
—Grace Hase, Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bow out
Anne M. Peterson, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
After all, most focus was on news from the WBD board later in the earnings day that David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance’s best and final takeover offer for the company was superior to Netflix, leading the streamer to bow out of the bidding.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 17 Mar. 2026
The Musketeers took out Texas in the First Four before bowing out against Illinois in the first round.
—Cedric Golden, Austin American Statesman, 16 Mar. 2026
Only one candidate — former Assemblymember Ian Calderon — bowed out as a result of the letter.
—Grace Hase, Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bow out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bow out
Verb
-
One such affair claimed an extra life when the executioner’s son ascended the scaffold to brandish a head, lost his footing, and fell to his death.—
Lauren Collins,
New Yorker,
1 Apr. 2026
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The Rockets are a team that lost its starting point guard (Fred VanVleet) at the start of the year while the Knicks brought back and built upon the exact same core that punched the franchise’s first ticket to the conference finals in the last quarter-century.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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That’s led to a generation of kids being treated as Big Tech guinea pigs and falling student achievement scores.—
Abby McCloskey,
Boston Herald,
5 Apr. 2026
-
The follow-up Saturday just fell short of also being special.—
Colleen Kane,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bow out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bow%20out. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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