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
After she was sent to the hospital during the show's dress rehearsal, Braxton was forced to bow out of the competition in 2015 due to blood clots in her lungs.
—
Diana Pearl, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
In the end, the age of supersonic passenger travel never materialized, with only 12 Concordes and two Tupolev Tu-144s entering regular passenger service, and the Tupolevs bowing out early after a string of technical issues.
—David Szondy
october 28, New Atlas, 28 Oct. 2025
The 26-year-old Indiana Fever guard was given less than 24 hours to prepare for the three-point contest after Clark was forced to bow out due to a lingering injury.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 27 Oct. 2025
Van Halen and company — Jon Jourdan, Frank Sidoris, Ronnie Ficarro and Garrett Whitlock — spent the summer opening for Creed, which sadly meant the group had to bow out of the Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne Back to the Beginning concert during July.
—Gary Graff, Billboard, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bow out
Diana Pearl, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
In the end, the age of supersonic passenger travel never materialized, with only 12 Concordes and two Tupolev Tu-144s entering regular passenger service, and the Tupolevs bowing out early after a string of technical issues.
—David Szondy
october 28, New Atlas, 28 Oct. 2025
The 26-year-old Indiana Fever guard was given less than 24 hours to prepare for the three-point contest after Clark was forced to bow out due to a lingering injury.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 27 Oct. 2025
Van Halen and company — Jon Jourdan, Frank Sidoris, Ronnie Ficarro and Garrett Whitlock — spent the summer opening for Creed, which sadly meant the group had to bow out of the Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne Back to the Beginning concert during July.
—Gary Graff, Billboard, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bow out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bow out
Verb
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Britain ultimately lost not only because of Washington’s extraordinary tenacity in the war’s several mainland theaters, but also because the king’s men had to stage long sieges, wage desperate naval battles, and take mounting casualties on too many other fronts spread too far apart.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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Department stores have been losing market share for decades, first to big-box discounters like Walmart and Target in the 1980’s and 90’s, and more recently to Amazon.—
Phil Wahba,
Fortune,
7 Nov. 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 9 Nov. 2025.
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