The difference between Bend and Bow

When used as nouns, bend means a curve, whereas bow means a weapon made of a curved piece of wood or other flexible material whose ends are connected by a string, used for shooting arrows.

When used as verbs, bend means to cause (something) to change its shape into a curve, by physical force, chemical action, or any other means, whereas bow means to play music on (a stringed instrument) using a bow.

check bellow for the other definitions of Bend and Bow

  1. Bend as a verb (transitive):

    To cause (something) to change its shape into a curve, by physical force, chemical action, or any other means.

    Examples:

    "If you bend the pipe too far, it will break."

    "Don’t bend your knees."

  2. Bend as a verb (intransitive):

    To become curved.

    Examples:

    "Look at the trees bending in the wind."

  3. Bend as a verb (transitive):

    To cause to change direction.

  4. Bend as a verb (intransitive):

    To change direction.

    Examples:

    "The road bends to the right"

  5. Bend as a verb (intransitive):

    To be inclined; to direct itself.

  6. Bend as a verb (intransitive, usually, with "down"):

    To stoop.

    Examples:

    "He bent down to pick up the pieces."

  7. Bend as a verb (intransitive):

    To bow in prayer, or in token of submission.

  8. Bend as a verb (transitive):

    To force to submit.

    Examples:

    "They bent me to their will."

  9. Bend as a verb (intransitive):

    To submit.

    Examples:

    "I am bending to my desire to eat junk food."

  10. Bend as a verb (transitive):

    To apply to a task or purpose.

    Examples:

    "He bent the company's resources to gaining market share."

  11. Bend as a verb (intransitive):

    To apply oneself to a task or purpose.

    Examples:

    "He bent to the goal of gaining market share."

  12. Bend as a verb (transitive):

    To adapt or interpret to for a purpose or beneficiary.

  13. Bend as a verb (transitive, nautical):

    To tie, as in securing a line to a cleat; to shackle a chain to an anchor; make fast.

    Examples:

    "Bend the sail to the yard."

  14. Bend as a verb (transitive, music):

    To smoothly change the pitch of a note.

    Examples:

    "You should bend the G slightly sharp in the next measure."

  15. Bend as a verb (intransitive, nautical):

    To swing the body when rowing.

  1. Bend as a noun:

    A curve.

    Examples:

    "There's a sharp bend in the road ahead."

  2. Bend as a noun:

    Any of the various knots which join the ends of two lines.

  3. Bend as a noun (in the plural, medicine, underwater diving, with ''the''):

    A severe condition caused by excessively quick decompression, causing bubbles of nitrogen to form in the blood; decompression sickness.

    Examples:

    "A diver who stays deep for too long must ascend very slowly in order to prevent the bends."

  4. Bend as a noun (heraldiccharge):

    One of the honourable ordinaries formed by two diagonal lines drawn from the dexter chief to the sinister base; it generally occupies a fifth part of the shield if uncharged, but if charged one third.

  5. Bend as a noun (obsolete):

    Turn; purpose; inclination; ends.

  6. Bend as a noun:

    In the leather trade, the best quality of sole leather; a butt; sometimes, half a butt cut lengthwise.

  7. Bend as a noun (mining):

    Hard, indurated clay; bind.

  8. Bend as a noun (nautical, in the plural):

    The thickest and strongest planks in a ship's sides, more generally called wales, which have the beams, knees, and futtocks bolted to them.

  9. Bend as a noun (nautical, in the plural):

    The frames or ribs that form the ship's body from the keel to the top of the sides.

    Examples:

    "the midship bends"

  10. Bend as a noun (music):

    A glissando, or glide between one pitch and another.

  1. Bow as a noun:

    A weapon made of a curved piece of wood or other flexible material whose ends are connected by a string, used for shooting arrows.

  2. Bow as a noun:

    A curved bend in a rod or planar surface, or in a linear formation such as a river (see oxbow).

  3. Bow as a noun:

    A rod with horsehair (or an artificial substitute) stretched between the ends, used for playing various stringed musical instruments.

  4. Bow as a noun:

    A stringed instrument (chordophone), consisting of a stick with a single taut cord stretched between the ends, most often played by plucking.

  5. Bow as a noun:

    A type of knot with two loops, used to tie together two cords such as shoelaces or apron strings, and frequently used as decoration, such as in gift-wrapping.

  6. Bow as a noun:

    Anything bent or curved, such as a rainbow.

  7. Bow as a noun:

    The U-shaped piece which goes around the neck of an ox and fastens it to the yoke.

  8. Bow as a noun:

    Any instrument consisting of an elastic rod, with ends connected by a string, employed for giving reciprocating motion to a drill, or for preparing and arranging hair, fur, etc., used by hatters.

  9. Bow as a noun (nautical):

    A crude sort of quadrant formerly used for taking the sun's altitude at sea.

  10. Bow as a noun (saddlery):

    Two pieces of wood which form the arched forward part of a saddletree.

  11. Bow as a noun:

    The part of a key that is not inserted into the lock and that is used to turn the key.

  1. Bow as a verb:

    To play music on (a stringed instrument) using a bow.

    Examples:

    "The musician bowed his violin expertly."

  2. Bow as a verb (intransitive):

    To become bent or curved.

    Examples:

    "The shelf bowed under the weight of the books."

    "RQ:King James Version Psalms 62 3 passage=How long wil ye imagine mischiefe against a man? ye shall be slaine all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence."

  3. Bow as a verb (transitive):

    To make something bend or curve.

  4. Bow as a verb (transitive, figurative):

    To exercise powerful or controlling influence over; to bend, figuratively; to turn; to incline.

  5. Bow as a verb (intransitive):

    To premiere.

    Examples:

    "Cronenberg’s "Cosmopolis" bows in Cannes this week."

  1. Bow as a verb (intransitive):

    To bend oneself as a gesture of respect or deference.

    Examples:

    "That singer always bows towards her audience for some reason."

  2. Bow as a verb (transitive, and, intransitive):

    To debut.

  3. Bow as a verb (intransitive):

    To defer (to something).

    Examples:

    "I bow to your better judgement in the matter."

  4. Bow as a verb (transitive):

    To give a direction, indication, or command to by bowing.

  1. Bow as a noun:

    A gesture, usually showing respect, made by inclining the head or bending forward at the waist; a reverence

    Examples:

    "He made a polite bow as he entered the room."

  1. Bow as a noun (nautical):

    The front of a boat or ship.

  2. Bow as a noun (rowing):

    The rower that sits in the seat closest to the bow of the boat.

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