bowl
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bowl¹
- /bəʊl/ UK
- [bɒʊ̯ɫ] Southern England, UK
- /bɒl/ UK
- /boʊl/ US
- /boʊl/ Canada
- [bo̞ːɫ] Canada
- /bɐʉl/ Australia, New Zealand
- [bɒʊ̯ɫ] Australia, New Zealand
- [b̥ou̯] Hong Kong, Singapore
- /bɑːʋ(ɘ)l/ India, North
- [bɑˑw(ɘ)l] India, North
- [bɑː.ʋəl] India, North
- /bəʋl/ India, South
- [bɐwl] India, South
Sounds like boll, (cot–caught merger) ball · Rhymes with -əʊl, (India) -aʊl
Where it comes from
From Middle English bolle, from Old English bolla, bolle (“bowl, cup, pot, beaker, measure”), from Proto-West Germanic *bollā, from Proto-Germanic *bullǭ (“ball, round vessel, bowl”).
Cognate with North Frisian bol (“bun, bread roll”), Middle Low German bolle, bole (“round object”), Dutch bol (“ball, sphere, scoop, dot”), German Bolle (“bulb”), Danish bolle (“bowl, bread roll”), Icelandic bolli (“cup”). Doublet of boule and pulla.
noun bowls
-
As much as is held by a bowl.
You can’t have any more soup – you’ve had three bowls already.
Similar: bowlful
- A dish comprising a mix of different foods served in a bowl, usually named after the base ingredient at the bottom or after a different dish that it simulates. This restaurant offers a number of different bowls.
- The non-mesh outer-container part of a salad spinner.
- The round container surface of a mortar (hollow vessel used to pound, crush, rub, grind or mix ingredients with a pestle).
- A water bowl, such as for a pet.
- One of the seven bowls of water used as ceremonial offerings in Buddhist practice.
- One of the seven bowls representing plagues described in Revelations in Christian theology.
- The round hollow part of anything; anything shaped like a bowl. Dig out a bowl in the ground.
- The part of a spoon that holds content, as opposed to the handle.
- The part of a cup that holds a liquid, as opposed to the handle.
- The surface of a sink that receives liquid and has a drain.
- The spinning core of a centrifugal separator.
- Part of a pipe, bong, or other smoking implement that holds the material to be burned. 195. Old German Pipe-Bowl ; carved wood ; design in front of bowl – the letters P K K surrounded by a wreath ; lid wanting. Switzerland.
- The quantity of burnable content to be consumed in a pipe or bong. Let's smoke a bowl!
- A round vessel used in various occult, spiritual or divinatory practices.
- A rounded portion of a glyph that encloses empty space, as in the letters d and o.
- A round crater (or similar) in the ground; a region shaped like a bowl.
- An elliptical-shaped stadium or amphitheater resembling a bowl.
- A postseason football competition, a bowl game (i.e. Rose Bowl, Super Bowl).
-
A haircut in which straight hair is cut at an even height around the edges, forming an overturned-bowl shape.
Similar: bowl cut, pudding bowl
- A singing bowl.
- A begging bowl
bowl²
- /bəʊl/ UK
- [bɒʊ̯ɫ] Southern England, UK
- /bɒl/ UK
- /boʊl/ US
- /boʊl/ Canada
- [bo̞ːɫ] Canada
- /bɐʉl/ Australia, New Zealand
- [bɒʊ̯ɫ] Australia, New Zealand
- [b̥ou̯] Hong Kong, Singapore
- /bɑːʋ(ɘ)l/ India, North
- [bɑˑw(ɘ)l] India, North
- [bɑː.ʋəl] India, North
- /bəʋl/ India, South
- [bɐwl] India, South
Sounds like boll, (cot–caught merger) ball · Rhymes with -əʊl, (India) -aʊl
Where it comes from
From Middle English bowle, boule, from Old French boule (“ball”), from Latin bulla (“bubble, stud, round object”). Doublet of poll.
noun bowls
- The ball rolled by players in the game of lawn bowls.
- The action of bowling a ball.
verb bowls · bowling · bowled
-
To roll or throw (a ball) in the correct manner in cricket and similar games and sports.
Break all the spokes and fellies from her wheel, / And bowl the round nave down the hill of heaven.
Similar: roll, throw, bung, cast, chuck, chunk, cook, dash, dump, feck, fling, jerk
- To throw the ball (in cricket and similar games and sports).
- To play bowling or a similar game.
- To roll or carry smoothly on, or as on, wheels. We were bowled rapidly along the road.
- To pelt or strike with anything rolled. Alas, I had rather be set quick i' the earth, / And bowled to death with turnips.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: basin, trough, arena, stadium, pipe bowl, pot, dish, cup, goblet, plate, crust, jug, flagon, platter, jar, canteen
Translations
Every language
noun container for food
| Español | tazón, cuenco, bol, boul, bowl, bols |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 사발 sabal, 그릇 geureut, 볼 bol |
| 日本語 | 碗 wan, 茶碗 chawan, ボウル bōru, 丼 donburi |
| 中文 | 碗 wǎn |
| हिन्दी | कटोरा kaṭorā, कटोरी kaṭorī |
| Kiswahili | bakuli |
| Português | tigela, malga |
| Français | bol |
| Deutsch | Schale, Schüssel |
| Italiano | scodella, ciotola, terrina, tazza |
| Ελληνικά | μπολ bol, γαβάθα gavátha, κυπελλάκι kypelláki, τσανάκα tsanáka |
| Română | castron, blid, bol |
| Русский | ча́ша čáša, ми́ска míska, пиа́ла piála, пло́шка plóška |
| Tiếng Việt | bát, chén, tô, đọi |
| العربية | زِبْدِيَّة zibdiyya, سُلْطَانِيَّة sulṭāniyya, زُبْدِيَّة zubdiyya |
| עברית | קְעָרָה keara |
noun elliptical-shaped stadium or amphitheater
| Português | estádio |
|---|
noun dish comprising a mix of different foods
| हिन्दी | थाली thālī |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Bowl |
| Ελληνικά | γαβάθα gavátha, τσανάκα tsanáka |
verb roll or throw (a ball)
| Deutsch | bowlen |
|---|
Talk about this word "bowl." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bowl. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. bowl. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bowl "bowl." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bowl.Cite this
@misc{bowl_2026,
title = {bowl},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bowl},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
