bow down

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /baʊ ˈdaʊn/

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Verb

bow down (third-person singular simple present bows down, present participle bowing down, simple past and past participle bowed down)

1. (intransitive, idiomatic) To bow, to bend oneself as a gesture of deference or respect.
   • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, via PC, →ISBN, →OCLC, scene: Citadel:

     Shepard: The rest of the galaxy isn't just going to bow down just because we tell them to. We'll need the fleets to bring them in line.

Derived terms

• bow down before the porcelain god
• bowed-down

Translations

to bend oneself as a gesture of respect or deference

• Armenian: խոնարհվել (hy) (xonarhvel)
• Finnish: kumartaa (fi)
• French: s’incliner (fr)
• German: sich niederwerfen (de)
• Gothic: 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌷𐌽𐌴𐌹𐍅𐌰𐌽 (anahneiwan)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek:

  Ancient: προσκυνέω (proskunéō)

• Old English: ġebūgan

Anagrams

• down bow, downbow