bow out

English

Etymology

bow + out

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /baʊ aʊt/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Verb

bow out (third-person singular simple present bows out, present participle bowing out, simple past and past participle bowed out)

1. (idiomatic) To resign, or leave, with one's credibility still intact.

   Jane had a long spell as chairman, but bowed out after she had a child.

Translations

To resign, or leave

• Chinese: 退出 (zh) (tuìchū)
• Finnish: erota (fi) (resign), perääntyä (fi) (back down), lähteä (fi) (leave)
• French: s’incliner (fr), tirer sa révérence (fr)
• Polish: wycofywać się impf, wycofać się pf
• Russian: откла́ниваться (ru) impf (otklánivatʹsja), откла́няться (ru) pf (otklánjatʹsja)

Anagrams

• outbow