What does "bowl" mean?
A roughly hemispherical container used to hold, mix or present food, such as salad, fruit or soup, or other items.
Bowl
/boʊl/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A roughly hemispherical container used to hold, mix or present food, such as salad, fruit or soup, or other items.
- Grammar: bowl is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: roll, adobe, advance, agora.
- Useful contrasts: bigger pot, plastic trough, beaker.
- Usage evidence: For example, they do not have to go to a stadium to see the World Series or the Super Bowl because they can enjoy watching the games in their own living rooms.
How to use "bowl"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bowl" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bowl" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bowl" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bowl" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "bowl" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "roll" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "bowl", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A roughly hemispherical container used to hold, mix or present food, such as salad, fruit or soup, or other items.
- 2 The ball rolled by players in the game of lawn bowls.
- 3 the act of rolling something (as the ball in bowling) wordnet
- 4 As much as is held by a bowl.
"You can’t have any more soup – you’ve had three bowls already."
- 5 The action of bowling a ball.
Show 18 more definitions
- 6 a dish that is round and open at the top for serving foods wordnet
- 7 A dish comprising a mix of different foods, not all of which need be cooked, served in a bowl.
"This restaurant offers a number of different bowls."
- 8 a round vessel that is open at the top; used chiefly for holding grains or liquids wordnet
- 9 A haircut in which straight hair is cut at an even height around the edges, forming a bowl shape.
- 10 a small round container that is open at the top for holding tobacco wordnet
- 11 The round hollow part of anything.
"Direct the cleaning fluid around the toilet bowl and under the rim."
- 12 a wooden ball (with flattened sides so that it rolls on a curved course) used in the game of lawn bowling wordnet
- 13 The round hollow part of anything.; The part of a spoon that holds content, as opposed to the handle.
- 14 a large ball with finger holes used in the sport of bowling wordnet
- 15 The round hollow part of anything.; 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."
- 16 a large structure for open-air sports or entertainments wordnet
- 17 The round hollow part of anything.; The quantity of burnable content to be consumed in a pipe or bong.
"Let's smoke a bowl!"
- 18 the quantity contained in a bowl wordnet
- 19 The round hollow part of anything.; A rounded portion of a glyph that encloses empty space, as in the letters d and o.
- 20 a concave shape with an open top wordnet
- 21 A round crater (or similar) in the ground.
- 22 An elliptical-shaped stadium or amphitheater resembling a bowl.
- 23 A postseason football competition, a bowl game (i.e. Rose Bowl, Super Bowl)
Verb
- 1 To roll or throw (a ball) in the correct manner in cricket and similar games and sports. transitive
"Break all the spokes and fellies from her wheel, / And bowl the round nave down the hill of heaven."
- 2 engage in the sport of bowling wordnet
- 3 To throw the ball (in cricket and similar games and sports). intransitive
- 4 hurl a cricket ball from one end of the pitch towards the batsman at the other end wordnet
- 5 To play bowling or a similar game. intransitive
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 roll (a ball) wordnet
- 7 To roll or carry smoothly on, or as on, wheels.
"We were bowled rapidly along the road."
- 8 To pelt or strike with anything rolled.
"Alas, I had rather be set quick i' the earth, / And bowled to death with turnips."
Example
"For example, they do not have to go to a stadium to see the World Series or the Super Bowl because they can enjoy watching the games in their own living rooms."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bowl"?
Common synonyms include: roll, adobe, advance, agora, alveolation, alveolus.
How do you use "bowl" in a sentence?
For example, they do not have to go to a stadium to see the World Series or the Super Bowl because they can enjoy watching the games in their own living rooms.
How do you pronounce "bowl"?
Pronounced /boʊl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
From Middle English bowle, boule, from Old French boule (“ball”), from Latin bulla (“bubble, stud, round object”). Doublet of poll.