noun

• (archery) A weapon made of a curved piece of wood or other flexible material whose ends are connected by a string, used for shooting arrows.
  "Bows come in a variety of different shapes, sizes and cultures, and what is true of one, is not necessarily true of another, so we're gonna be stereotyping here, but, in general, a bow is a way of launching a pointy stick at somebody that you don't like."
• (music) A rod with horsehair (or an artificial substitute) stretched between the ends, used for playing various stringed musical instruments.
• (nautical) A crude sort of quadrant formerly used for taking the sun's altitude at sea.
• (saddlery) Two pieces of wood which form the arched forward part of a saddle tree.

verb

• (intransitive) To become bent or curved.
  "The shelf bowed under the weight of the books."
• (transitive) To make something bend or curve.
  "[…] as when we bow things the contrary way, to make them come to their naturall ſtraitneſſe."
• (transitive, figurative) To exercise powerful or controlling influence over; to bend, figuratively; to turn; to incline.
  "Adversities do more bow men's minds to religion."
• (transitive, figurative) To humble or subdue, to make submit.
  "Know thou the secret of a spirit Bow’d from its wild pride into shame."

verb

• (intransitive) To bend oneself as a gesture of respect or deference.
  "The soldier now blew upon a green whistle, and at once a young girl, dressed in a pretty green silk gown, entered the room. She had lovely green hair and green eyes, and she bowed low before Dorothy as she said, "Follow me and I will show you your room.""
• (transitive and intransitive) To debut.
  "The show bowed in the first week of December, 1951. Dinah was ready, and so were the technicians who put on her makeup […]"
• (intransitive) To defer (to something).
  "I bow to your better judgement in the matter."
• (transitive) To give a direction, indication, or command to by bowing.
  "“This way, monsieur,” he said, and led the way up the broad, marble staircase. In another moment he had opened a door, and, drawing aside a heavy curtain, obsequiously bowed Tarzan into a dimly lighted apartment. Then Jacques vanished."

noun

• (nautical) The front of a boat or ship.
  "Holonyms: watercraft < vessel"
• (rowing) The rower that sits in the seat closest to the bow of the boat.