bowling

1. 1
   noununcountable

   An indoor game in which players roll a ball down a lane to knock over a triangular set of ten pins.

   We go bowling downtown, where the lanes all have automatic scoring.

   After three frames of bowling, she finally rolled her first strike.

2. 2
   noununcountable

   In cricket, the act of propelling the ball down the pitch toward the batsman.

   His bowling kept the run rate low throughout the middle overs.

   Years of practice gave her bowling remarkable accuracy and control.

   Oppositebatting

   Note

   Cricket's bowling is one half of the contest, not a game of its own. The fielding side bowls at the batsman, who defends and scores. Because the noun is uncountable, it names a player's whole craft or performance (his bowling, her bowling) rather than any single ball. Among cricket players and fans, the word alone points here, not to the alley game.

3. 3
   noununcountable

   Any of several related games, played indoors or outdoors, that involve rolling balls toward a target.

   Lawn bowling on a manicured green feels very different from the version played on indoor lanes.

   Each region developed its own form of bowling, shaped by climate and local custom.

4. 4
   noununcountable

   The action of rolling or propelling a ball forward along the ground or a lane.

   The coach studied his bowling frame by frame to correct the release point.

   Her bowling improved noticeably once she steadied her approach.

   Similardelivery, rolling

5. 5
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of bowl.

   The fast bowler is bowling with real menace today.

   She enjoys bowling whenever the alley opens.

   Note

   The -ing form serves every use of the verb: the cricketer bowling at the batsman, the player who goes bowling at the alley, and the car bowling along a road. With be it builds the progressive (she was bowling well). As a gerund it can stand as subject or object (bowling relaxes him). It belongs only to the verb; the food bowl has no share in it.

6. 6
   noundialectalNew Englanduncountable

   A New England variety of the game played with slender, candle-shaped pins and a small handheld ball, allowing three balls per frame.

   Candlepin bowling rewards patience, since toppling those narrow pins takes careful aim.

   Old-timers at the alley still prefer candlepin bowling to the ten-pin lanes.

   Note

   New England keeps its own default for the bare word. There, bowling said without qualification can mean the candlepin game, where most speakers would understand the ten-pin game. Outside the region, or whenever the difference matters, say candlepin bowling in full. The bare word is safe only among listeners who share the local assumption.

7. 7
   nounIrelanduncountable

   An outdoor game, popular in parts of Ireland, in which competitors hurl a heavy iron ball along a public road, aiming to cover the course in the fewest throws.

   On Sunday mornings the village gathers for road bowling on the quiet back roads.

   Skilled road bowling means sending the iron ball around each bend without losing distance.

   Note

   Ireland gives the bare word a local meaning, just as New England does for the candlepin game. There, bowling can mean the road game outright. Elsewhere, write road bowling in full. An unqualified bowling will be heard as the alley game, which is a long way from a heavy ball sent along a country road.

8. 8
   nounslanguncountable

   A distinctive, confident style of walking, full of swagger, associated with urban street culture.

   You could spot his bowling from across the parking lot, all shoulders and slow roll.

   The kids picked up that bowling from the older guys on the corner.

   Similarswagger, strut, swag

   Note

   Street slang, and best kept to speech, dialogue or writing that captures it. In formal prose a reader will take the word as the alley game unless the context clearly concerns how someone moves. Possessives and verbs of noticing help it land: you spot or copy a person's bowling, the way you would a laugh or an accent.

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