as in to lose
to undergo defeat
quite embarrassingly, the top-seeded player bowed out in the first round of competition
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bow out
Only one candidate — former Assemblymember Ian Calderon — bowed out as a result of the letter.
—
Grace Hase, Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2026
Richard Branson’s company is the only one left helping wealthy tourists explore the outer reaches of our atmosphere via suborbital flight—with its only competitor bowing out recently, with Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin announcing in January it would be stopped its space tourism endeavors.
—Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 5 Mar. 2026
Gonzales' decision to bow out of the race appears to clear the field.
—ABC News, 5 Mar. 2026
Paramount raised its offer last week, and Netflix then opted to bow out rather than take part in a bidding war.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 2 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bow out
Grace Hase, Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2026
Richard Branson’s company is the only one left helping wealthy tourists explore the outer reaches of our atmosphere via suborbital flight—with its only competitor bowing out recently, with Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin announcing in January it would be stopped its space tourism endeavors.
—Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 5 Mar. 2026
Gonzales' decision to bow out of the race appears to clear the field.
—ABC News, 5 Mar. 2026
Paramount raised its offer last week, and Netflix then opted to bow out rather than take part in a bidding war.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 2 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
-
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
-
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 5 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
