bowl
bowl — noun
1. a round container with deep sides, used to hold or serve food, liquid, or small
a round container with deep sides, used to hold or serve food, liquid, or small objects.
Aiko poured hot soup into a wide bowl for her grandfather.
put food in a bowl
Keys and coins sat in a wooden bowl beside the front door.
A glass bowl of cut mango sat on the picnic table.
a bowl of + food
The cat pushed its water bowl across the kitchen floor at dawn.
- a bowl of soup
- fruit bowl
- mixing bowl
- water bowl
Grammar Patterns
a bowl of [food/liquid]
put [something] in a bowl
Usage Note
Often followed by 'of' plus the thing inside, as in 'a bowl of rice' or 'a bowl of water'. Distinguish from a plate, which is much flatter.
Common Mistakes
2. a complete meal made from several ingredients placed together in one bowl, often
a complete meal made from several ingredients placed together in one bowl, often in separate layers or sections.
Noa ordered a salmon bowl with rice, avocado, and cucumber for lunch.
menu pattern: [ingredient] bowl
At the food truck, each bowl came with beans, chicken, and salsa.
The cafe's breakfast bowl mixed yogurt, fruit, and nuts in neat layers.
layered meal in one bowl
After practice, Diego made a quick bowl with rice, egg, and spinach.
- salmon bowl
- breakfast bowl
- grain bowl
- rice bowl
Grammar Patterns
[ingredient] bowl
order a bowl
Usage Note
Common in cafe and takeaway menus. It usually names a ready-made mixed meal, not just any food that happens to be served in a bowl.
3. the hollow curved part inside an object, such as a spoon, pipe, or toilet.
the hollow curved part inside an object, such as a spoon, pipe, or toilet.
Soup dripped from the bowl of the spoon onto the tablecloth.
the bowl of a spoon
Ash filled the bowl of the old pipe on the windowsill.
The plumber scrubbed the toilet bowl before the guests arrived.
common compound: toilet bowl
Under the lamp, the silver bowl of the ladle shone brightly.
- bowl of a spoon
- toilet bowl
- pipe bowl
- ladle bowl
Grammar Patterns
the bowl of a spoon
toilet bowl
Usage Note
Usually appears in 'the bowl of + object'. Distinguish from sense 1, which names the whole container rather than one part of something.
Common Mistakes
4. a very large round place, often open above, where people watch sports or concert
a very large round place, often open above, where people watch sports or concerts.
The new tennis bowl seats eighteen thousand people under the summer sky.
venue sense: [sport] bowl
Crowds filled the hillside bowl for the jazz festival at sunset.
concert venue sense
From the top row, the whole bowl looked like a silver ring.
Workers covered the bowl with lights before the opening concert.
- tennis bowl
- concert bowl
- fill the bowl
- upper bowl
- arena
more general word for a large sports or entertainment venue
- amphitheater
often stresses a circular open-air design, especially for performances
Grammar Patterns
[sport/event] bowl
fill the bowl
Usage Note
Usually modified by the sport or event, as in 'tennis bowl' or 'concert bowl'. Distinguish from sense 1 by its public size and function.
5. a game in which players roll big balls across grass or a smooth floor, trying to
a game in which players roll big balls across grass or a smooth floor, trying to stop nearest to a small white ball.
On the village green, bowls began after tea at four o'clock.
sport name: bowls
The community center runs a bowls class for beginners on Friday nights.
beginner bowls class
After dinner, Ravi watched bowls on television with his uncle.
Indoor bowls keeps Greta active at the club every Wednesday.
- play bowls
- indoor bowls
- bowls club
- watch bowls
- lawn bowls
full name of the sport, especially when contrast with indoor versions is needed
Grammar Patterns
play bowls
watch bowls
Usage Note
As the name of the sport, it often appears in the plural form 'bowls', especially after play or watch.
Common Mistakes
6. a heavy ball that players roll across the green in bowls.
a heavy ball that players roll across the green in bowls.
Nadia wiped her black bowl before rolling it toward the white jack.
roll a bowl toward the jack
Tomas's last bowl curved left and stopped beside the marker.
At the club, each player carried two heavy bowls onto the grass.
The closest bowl finished a hand's width from the small white ball.
closest bowl in scoring
- roll a bowl
- black bowl
- closest bowl
- heavy bowls
- ball
general word; it does not identify this particular sport
- bowling ball
usually refers to the ball used in ten-pin bowling, not lawn bowls
Grammar Patterns
roll a bowl
a black bowl
Usage Note
Common in the phrase 'roll a bowl'. Distinguish from sense 5, which is the game itself rather than the ball used in it.
Common Mistakes
7. an American football game played after the regular season, especially one betwee
an American football game played after the regular season, especially one between invited college teams.
Ohio State reached a major bowl after winning eleven games.
American football bowl
Our hotel filled with fans the night before the bowl.
The school band travelled to Texas for the New Year's bowl.
Television crews arrived early to cover the college bowl in Miami.
college bowl
- college bowl
- major bowl
- reach a bowl
- play in a bowl
- postseason game
broader phrase that can also describe professional sports
- playoff
not the same format; playoffs are usually part of an elimination series
Grammar Patterns
reach a bowl
play in a bowl
Usage Note
Most often used in American sports news. It usually appears with words like college, major, or New Year's.
bowl — verb
1. to play bowls or bowling, or to send the ball forward in one of those games.
to play bowls or bowling, or to send the ball forward in one of those games.
Ravi bowled first and knocked down eight pins.
intransitive: bowl in a game
On the village green, Hana bowled slowly toward the white jack.
bowl toward the jack
The children laughed when Uncle Kenji bowled a ball into the gutter.
transitive: bowl a ball
After work, Priya bowled three games with her neighbors.
- bowl first
- bowl a ball
- bowl three games
- bowl toward the jack
Grammar Patterns
bowl
bowl a ball
bowl toward the jack
Usage Note
Can be intransitive for taking part in the game, as in 'We bowled after work', and transitive for sending the ball, as in 'She bowled a slow ball'.
Common Mistakes
2. in cricket, to run up and throw the ball to the batsman with an overarm action.
in cricket, to run up and throw the ball to the batsman with an overarm action.
Amara bowled a fast ball past the batsman's bat.
bowl + a fast ball
From the far end, Yusuf bowled to the new batsman after lunch.
bowl to + batsman
The captain asked Noa to bowl the last over before sunset.
bowl an over
During practice, the coach told Ravi to bowl with a straighter arm.
- bowl to the batsman
- bowl an over
- bowl a fast ball
- bowl from the far end
Grammar Patterns
bowl to [batsman]
bowl an over
bowl a fast ball
Usage Note
Common patterns are 'bowl to a batsman', 'bowl an over', and 'bowl a fast ball'. Distinguish from sense 1, which belongs to bowls and bowling.
Common Mistakes
Word family
- bowlernounB2
- bowlingnounB1
- bowlfulnounB2
- bowl-shapedadjectiveB2
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
These words all name containers, but they point to different shapes and uses. A 'bowl' is deeper than a plate and usually round, so it suits soup, rice, fruit, or small objects. 'Dish' is the broadest word and can mean many kinds of containers or even the food itself. A 'plate' is flat or only slightly deep, so it is better for bread, meat, or sliced cake. A 'basin' is usually larger and is often used for washing, mixing, or carrying water rather than serving a meal. Compare: 'She ate noodles from a bowl' sounds natural, while 'She washed her face in a basin' points to washing, not eating.
Etymology
The word 'bowl' comes from Old English 'bolla', a word for a rounded cup or container. Related Germanic words had the same basic idea of something hollow and round. Over time, English kept the container meaning and then extended it to anything with a similar shape, such as the inside of a spoon, large bowl-shaped venues, and sports terms connected with rolling balls.