- a shady leafy shelter or recess, as in a wood or garden; arbour
- literary a lady's bedroom or apartments, esp in a medieval castle; boudoir
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
bow•er1 /ˈbaʊɚ/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- a leafy shelter, as in a garden;
an arbor. - a summer cottage in the woods.
bow•er1
(bou′ər),USA pronunciation n.
v.t.
bow′er•like′, adj.
bow•er2 (bou′ər),USA pronunciation n. [Naut.]
bow•er3 (bou′ər),USA pronunciation n.
bow•er4 (bō′ər),USA pronunciation n. [Music.]
- a leafy shelter or recess;
arbor. - a rustic dwelling;
cottage. - a lady's boudoir in a medieval castle.
v.t.
- to enclose in or as in a bower;
embower.
- bef. 900; Middle English bour, Old English būr chamber; cognate with Old Norse būr pantry, German Bauer birdcage; akin to neighbor
bow•er2 (bou′ər),USA pronunciation n. [Naut.]
- Naval Termsan anchor carried at a ship's bow. Also called bow′er an′chor.
- bow3 + -er1 1645–55
bow•er3 (bou′ər),USA pronunciation n.
- Nauticala person or thing that bows or bends.
- bow1 + -er1 1590–1600
bow•er4 (bō′ər),USA pronunciation n. [Music.]
- Music and Dancea musician, as a violinist, who performs with a bow on a stringed instrument.
- 1400–50; late Middle English; see bow2, -er1
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
bower /ˈbaʊə/ n
bower /ˈbaʊə/ n
- a vessel's bow anchor