bows

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of bow.

   Waves slapped against the bows of the moored fishing boats.

   The shop displayed dozens of silk bows in every color imaginable.

   Note

   One spelling covers several unrelated nouns. The archer's weapon, the violinist's rod and the looped knot on a gift all rhyme with go. The bows of a boat, its forward end, rhyme with now. A reader cannot tell them apart by spelling, only by context, so a sentence like "the bows were damaged" may need a word more to settle whether a ship or a ribbon is meant.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of bow.

   The conductor bows once the final note fades into silence.

   He bows respectfully before greeting his teacher each morning.

   Note

   The verb splits by sound just as the plural noun does. When someone bends in deference, as in "she bows to the audience," it rhymes with now. Figurative uses such as "bows to pressure" follow that same sound. When a cellist draws a bow across the strings, as in "she bows the cello," it rhymes with go. That musical sense is the one whose object is an instrument.

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