• (British) IPA: /bəʊɫ/, [bɔʊɫ]
• (America) IPA: /boɫ/

bowl (plural bowls)

1. A roughly hemispherical container used to hold, mix or present food, such as salad, fruit or soup, or other items.
2. As much as is held by a bowl.

   You can’t have any more soup – you’ve had three bowls already.

3. 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.

4. A haircut in which straight hair is cut at an even height around the edges, forming a bowl shape.
5. The round hollow part of anything.

   Direct the cleaning fluid around the toilet bowl and under the rim.

   1. The part of a spoon that holds content, as opposed to the handle.
   2. A part of a pipe or bong packed with marijuana for smoking

      Let's smoke a bowl!

   3. (typography) A rounded portion of a glyph that encloses empty space, as in the letters d and o.
6. A round crater (or similar) in the ground.
7. (sports, theater) An elliptical-shaped stadium or amphitheater resembling a bowl.
8. (American football) A postseason football competition, a bowl game (i.e. Rose Bowl Game, Super Bowl)

• (as much as is held by a bowl) bowlful
• (haircut) bowl cut, pudding bowl
• (crater) crater, hollow

• French: bol
• German: Schale, Schüssel
• Italian: scodella, ciotola, terrina, tazza
• Portuguese: tigela
• Russian: ча́ша
• Spanish: tazón, cuenco, bol

bowl (plural bowls)

1. The ball rolled by players in the game of lawn bowls.
2. The action of bowling a ball.
3. (in the plural, but used with a singular verb) The game of bowls.

   Synonyms: lawn bowls, lawn bowling

• Italian: boccia
• Portuguese: bocha

bowl (bowls, present participle bowling; past and past participle bowled)

1. (transitive) To roll or throw (a ball) in the correct manner in cricket and similar games and sports.
   • c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act II, scene ii]:

     Break all the spokes and fellies from her wheel, / And bowl the round nave down the hill of heaven.

2. (intransitive) To throw the ball (in cricket and similar games and sports).
3. To roll or carry smoothly on, or as on, wheels.

   We were bowled rapidly along the road.

4. To pelt or strike with anything rolled.
   • c. 1597, William Shakespeare, “The Merry VViues of VVindsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act III, scene iv]:

     Alas, I had rather be set quick i' the earth, / And bowled to death with turnips.