Webster's English Dictionary

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bowl

1. bowl \'bo-l\ n [ME bolle, fr. OE bolla; akin to OHG bolla blister, OE 
   bla]-wan to blow 1: a concave usu. hemispherical vessel used esp. for 
   holding liquids; sp ecif : a drinking vessel (as for wine) 2: the contents 
   of a bowl  3: a bowl-shaped or concave part : as  3a: the hollow of a spoon 
   or tobacco pipe  3b: the receptacle of a toilet  4a: a natural formation or 
   geographical region shaped like a bowl  4b: a bowl-shaped structure; esp : 
   an athletic stadium 
2. bowl n [ME boule, fr. MF, fr. L bulla bubble] 1a: a ball (as of lignum 
   vitae) weighted or shaped to give it a bias when r olled in lawn bowling pl 
   but sing in constr  1b: LAWN BOWLING  2: a cast of the ball in bowling  3: 
   a cylindrical roller or drum 
3. bowl vi 1: to participate in a game of bowling  2: to roll a ball in 
   bowling  3: to travel in a vehicle smoothly and rapidly  1a: to roll (a 
   ball) in bowling  1b1: to complete by bowling {~ a string}  1b2: to score 
   by bowling {~s 150}  2a: to strike with a swiftly moving object  2b: to 
   overwhelm with surprise