bowling (down or over)

verb

Definition of bowling (down or over)next
present participle of bowl (down or over)
as in downing
to strike (someone) so forcefully as to cause a fall the exuberant dog bowled over several children

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bowling (down or over)
  1. downing
  2. dropping
  3. knocking over
  4. knocking down
Verb
  • The powerful winds are capable of causing catastrophic damage to structures while downing trees and power lines, and producing prolonged power outages.
    — Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
  • Chestnut is now an 18-time Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest champion after blowing out the competition once again, this time by downing 66 hot dogs and buns in Coney Island.
    — Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 4 July 2026
Definition of downing
Verb
  • After an initial flurry, Yanez expertly countered, dropping the former champion with precise right hands.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 12 July 2026
  • As the pass map below shows, Oyarzabal concentrated more on linking play, frequently dropping deeper than wide attackers Lamine Yamal and Alex Baena.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 11 July 2026
Definition of dropping
Verb
  • Amazon has the Hisense 50-inch E7 on sale for a wild 43% off right now, knocking over $300 off the $699 list price and bringing it to its all-time low.
    — Kelsey Fogarty, PC Magazine, 15 July 2026
  • Pets and other animals accidentally start hundreds of home fires each year, often by knocking over candles, tipping space heaters or bumping stove knobs.
    — Lauren Paige Richeson, USA Today, 15 July 2026
Definition of knocking over
Verb
  • The pair of earthquakes struck on June 24, knocking down buildings, sending residents fleeing for safety and trapping some survivors under the rubble for days.
    — Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 8 July 2026
  • Frazier won by unanimous decision after knocking down Ali in Round 15.
    — Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of knocking down
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.

Browse Nearby Words

bowling
bowling (down or over)
bowling over
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bowling (down or over).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bowling%20%28down%20or%20over%29. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 17
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
child-detective
Spot the Misspelled Word July 2026 Those little red underlines can't help you now...
See All