Bowler
//ˈboʊ.lɚ// name, noun, slang
name, noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 One who engages in the sport of bowling.
- 2 A bowler hat; a round black hat formerly popular among British businessmen.
"“One marble hall, with staircase complete, one butler and three flunkeys to receive a retired sojer who dares to ring the bell. D'you know, old boy, I gave my bowler to the butler, whangee to one flunkey, gloves to another, and there was the fourth poor blighter looking like an orphan at a Mothers' Meeting. …""
- 3 a felt hat that is round and hard with a narrow brim wordnet
- 4 The player currently bowling.
- 5 a player who rolls balls down an alley at pins wordnet
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 A player selected mainly for their bowling ability.
- 7 a cricketer who delivers the ball to the batsman in cricket wordnet
- 8 The pitcher. slang
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname originating as an occupation. countable
- 2 A placename in the United States, from the surname:; An unincorporated community in Carbon County, Montana. countable, uncountable
- 3 A placename in the United States, from the surname:; An unincorporated community in Appomattox County, Virginia. countable, uncountable
- 4 A placename in the United States, from the surname:; A village in Shawano County, Wisconsin. countable, uncountable
Example
More examples"There is a bowler hat on the table."
Etymology
Etymology 1
From bowl + -er.
Etymology 2
From the name of the hatmakers Thomas and William Bowler, associated with early production.
Etymology 3
English occupational surname for a maker or seller of bowls, dishes and cups, from Middle English bollere.
Related phrases
More for "bowler"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.