Library / English Dictionary

BOWL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of rolling something (as the ball in bowling)

Synonyms:

bowl; roll

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("bowl" is a kind of...):

actuation; propulsion (the act of propelling)

Holonyms ("bowl" is a part of...):

bowling (the playing of a game of tenpins or duckpins etc)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A dish that is round and open at the top for serving foods

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bowl" is a kind of...):

dish (a piece of dishware normally used as a container for holding or serving food)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bowl"):

cereal bowl (a bowl for holding breakfast cereal)

finger bowl (small bowl for rinsing the fingers at table)

mixing bowl (bowl used with an electric mixer)

porringer (a shallow metal bowl (usually with a handle))

punch bowl (a large bowl for serving beverages; usually with a ladle)

salad bowl (a large bowl for mixing and serving a salad)

slop basin; slop bowl (a bowl into which the dregs of teacups and coffee cups are emptied at the table)

soup bowl (a bowl for serving soup)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A round vessel that is open at the top; used chiefly for holding food or liquids

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bowl" is a kind of...):

vessel (an object used as a container (especially for liquids))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bowl"):

toilet bowl (the bowl of a toilet that can be flushed with water)

mazer (a large hardwood drinking bowl)

jorum (a large drinking bowl)

fish bowl; fishbowl; goldfish bowl (a transparent bowl in which small fish are kept)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A small round container that is open at the top for holding tobacco

Synonyms:

bowl; pipe bowl

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bowl" is a kind of...):

container (any object that can be used to hold things (especially a large metal boxlike object of standardized dimensions that can be loaded from one form of transport to another))

Holonyms ("bowl" is a part of...):

pipe; tobacco pipe (a tube with a small bowl at one end; used for smoking tobacco)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A wooden ball (with flattened sides so that it rolls on a curved course) used in the game of lawn bowling

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bowl" is a kind of...):

ball (round object that is hit or thrown or kicked in games)

Holonyms ("bowl" is a part of...):

bowls; lawn bowling (a bowling game played on a level lawn with biased wooden balls that are rolled at a jack)

Derivation:

bowl (engage in the sport of bowling)

bowl (roll (a ball))

Sense 6

Meaning:

A large ball with finger holes used in the sport of bowling

Synonyms:

bowl; bowling ball

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bowl" is a kind of...):

ball (round object that is hit or thrown or kicked in games)

Meronyms (parts of "bowl"):

thumbhole (a finger hole made to fit the thumb (as in a bowling ball))

finger hole (a hole for inserting a finger)

Holonyms ("bowl" is a part of...):

bowling equipment (equipment used in bowling)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A large structure for open-air sports or entertainments

Synonyms:

arena; bowl; sports stadium; stadium

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bowl" is a kind of...):

construction; structure (a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts)

Meronyms (parts of "bowl"):

athletic field; field; playing area; playing field (a piece of land prepared for playing a game)

tiered seat (seating that is arranged in sloping tiers so that spectators in the back can see over the heads of those in front)

standing room (room for passengers or spectators to stand)

stand (tiered seats consisting of a structure (often made of wood) where people can sit to watch an event (game or parade))

field house (an athletic facility where athletes prepare for sport)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bowl"):

amphitheater; amphitheatre; coliseum (an oval large stadium with tiers of seats; an arena in which contests and spectacles are held)

ballpark; park (a facility in which ball games are played (especially baseball games))

bullring (a stadium where bullfights take place)

circus ((antiquity) an open-air stadium for chariot races and gladiatorial games)

covered stadium; dome; domed stadium (a stadium that has a roof)

football stadium (a stadium where football games are held)

hippodrome (a stadium for horse shows or horse races)

skybox (an elevated box for viewing events at a sports stadium)

Sense 8

Meaning:

The quantity contained in a bowl

Synonyms:

bowl; bowlful

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Hypernyms ("bowl" is a kind of...):

containerful (the quantity that a container will hold)

Sense 9

Meaning:

A concave shape with an open top

Synonyms:

bowl; trough

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("bowl" is a kind of...):

concave shape; concavity; incurvation; incurvature (a shape that curves or bends inward)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Engage in the sport of bowling

Example:

My parents like to bowl on Friday nights

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "bowl" is one way to...):

play (participate in games or sport)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "bowl"):

skittle (play skittles)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

bowl (a wooden ball (with flattened sides so that it rolls on a curved course) used in the game of lawn bowling)

bowler (a player who rolls balls down an alley at pins)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Hurl a cricket ball from one end of the pitch towards the batsman at the other end

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "bowl" is one way to...):

cast; hurl; hurtle (throw forcefully)

Domain category:

cricket (a game played with a ball and bat by two teams of 11 players; teams take turns trying to score runs)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Roll (a ball)

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "bowl" is one way to...):

roll; wheel (move along on or as if on wheels or a wheeled vehicle)

Domain category:

bowling (the playing of a game of tenpins or duckpins etc)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

bowl (a wooden ball (with flattened sides so that it rolls on a curved course) used in the game of lawn bowling)

bowler (a player who rolls balls down an alley at pins)

Credits

 Context examples: 

There was wine, and there was strong ale; and after dinner Mrs. Micawber made us a bowl of hot punch with her own hands.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

"I haven't a single finger bowl, but this is a setout that will last me all my days, Hannah says."

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

I had myself a great silver bowl, with two goblets, and a plastron of Spanish steel.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But you cannot light it at a lamp without getting the bowl charred.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The lamp, which was an ordinary standard, he examined with minute care, making certain measurements upon its bowl.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Out of the black shadows there glimmered little red circles of light, now bright, now faint, as the burning poison waxed or waned in the bowls of the metal pipes.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Walking or biking to school, dancing, bowling and yoga are some other ways for kids to get exercise.

(Exercise for Children, NIH)

As it relates to tobacco use, a device that has a mouthpiece at one end of a tube and a small bowl at the other end that is filled with tobacco, which is lit and smoked.

(Pipe, NCI Dictionary)

It was opened by the farmer's wife, and when Dorothy asked for something to eat the woman gave them all a good dinner, with three kinds of cake and four kinds of cookies, and a bowl of milk for Toto.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

We were now outside Thornfield gates, and bowling lightly along the smooth road to Millcote, where the dust was well laid by the thunderstorm, and, where the low hedges and lofty timber trees on each side glistened green and rain-refreshed.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)