as in losing
to undergo defeat
quite embarrassingly, the top-seeded player bowed out in the first round of competition
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Recent Examples of bowing out
While England breezily dismissed Senegal 3-0 in its fourth match of the tournament, Morocco eliminated Portugal in the quarterfinals before bowing out 2-0 to eventual runnersup France in the semis.
—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
30 June 2026
Golden State entered the draft lottery after going 37-45 during the regular season and bowing out in the play-in tournament.
—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
24 June 2026
After bowing out of college football last week, as Texas Tech — where Sorsby never played a snap — prepared to defend him, the talented yet troubled quarterback opted to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft.
—
Chris Branch,
New York Times,
24 June 2026
Luther Campbell, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Dale Holness, and Elijah Manley had discussed one or two of them bowing out of the race but could not decide who that should be by the filing deadline.
—
Manuel Bojorquez,
CBS News,
12 June 2026
Advertisement Barring Platner bowing out in time—which seems unlikely—Democrats are hunkering down, desperately hoping there aren’t more Platner revelations left to come out before Election Day.
—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
10 June 2026
The latter staged frequent crossovers with the mothership series in its final years before bowing out in May 2024.
—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
19 May 2026
Family is the reason Brown is bowing out.
—
Amy Drew Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 May 2026
Swalwell, who has denied the allegations, had shown signs of momentum in polls before bowing out.
—
Ben Paviour,
Sacbee.com,
23 Apr. 2026
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
30 June 2026
Golden State entered the draft lottery after going 37-45 during the regular season and bowing out in the play-in tournament.
—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
24 June 2026
After bowing out of college football last week, as Texas Tech — where Sorsby never played a snap — prepared to defend him, the talented yet troubled quarterback opted to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft.
—
Chris Branch,
New York Times,
24 June 2026
Luther Campbell, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Dale Holness, and Elijah Manley had discussed one or two of them bowing out of the race but could not decide who that should be by the filing deadline.
—
Manuel Bojorquez,
CBS News,
12 June 2026
Advertisement Barring Platner bowing out in time—which seems unlikely—Democrats are hunkering down, desperately hoping there aren’t more Platner revelations left to come out before Election Day.
—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
10 June 2026
The latter staged frequent crossovers with the mothership series in its final years before bowing out in May 2024.
—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
19 May 2026
Family is the reason Brown is bowing out.
—
Amy Drew Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 May 2026
Swalwell, who has denied the allegations, had shown signs of momentum in polls before bowing out.
—
Ben Paviour,
Sacbee.com,
23 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bowing out
Verb
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Shortstop Francisco Lindor backed up and called off the converging outfielders before losing his footing and falling right in front of Tyrone Taylor, who tripped over Lindor while failing to make the catch.
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Amid the inextricable trauma of losing her 18-year-old child, the mother had feared that traditional funeral customs might be handled differently because of the manner in which her daughter died.
Verb
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The report will also provide insight into whether American workers’ paychecks are falling further behind inflation.
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But Musk fell short of the yearly 5% minimum the IRS legally requires his foundation to give away, after falling roughly $423 million short in 2023.
Verb
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Chris Jung | Nurphoto | Getty Images Shares of Nvidia have been faltering recently — and Kalshi traders predict that what the company can charge for chips is also declining.
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After faltering in last year’s Div.
Cite this Entry
“Bowing out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bowing%20out. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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