take a bow

T t

Definitions of take a bow words

verb without object take a bow to bend the knee or body or incline the head, as in reverence, submission, salutation, recognition, or acknowledgment. 1
verb without object take a bow to yield; submit: to bow to the inevitable. 1
verb without object take a bow to bend or curve downward; stoop: the pines bowed low. 1
verb with object take a bow to bend or incline (the knee, body, or head) in worship, submission, respect, civility, agreement, etc.: He bowed his head to the crowd. 1
verb with object take a bow to cause to submit; subdue; crush. 1
verb with object take a bow to cause to stoop or incline: Age had bowed his head. 1

before 900

One of the 4% oldest English words

before 900; Middle English bowen (v.), Old English būgan; cognate with Dutch buigen; akin to German biegen, Gothic biugan, Old Norse buga, etc.

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 99% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer