noun
Common
bowling
BOH-lihng
Bowling (noun) means a game in which a ball is rolled down a lane to knock over a set of standing pins. Example: “Our office team meets at the bowling alley once a month.”
noun
1
A game in which a ball is rolled down a lane to knock over a set of standing pins.
"Our office team meets at the bowling alley once a month."
"We went bowling on Friday night and I got two strikes."
"The kids love bowling with the bumpers up."
2
In cricket, the action of delivering the ball to the batsman.
"The coach praised the team's accurate bowling on the first morning."
"Fast bowling can be tiring, so he rests between matches."
"His bowling improved dramatically after the coaching camp."
How to use bowling
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe activity of rolling a ball at pins (tenpin bowling), or delivering the ball in cricket.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
go bowling
bowling alley
bowling average
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Our office team meets at the _____ alley once a month.
Synonyms
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tenpins
kegling
Related words
Rhymes for bowling
See all rhymes for bowling →Frequently asked questions
What does “bowling” mean?
The word “bowling” means a game in which a ball is rolled down a lane to knock over a set of standing pins. In plain terms, the activity of rolling a ball at pins (tenpin bowling), or delivering the ball in cricket.
How do you pronounce “bowling”?
“Bowling” is pronounced BOH-lihng (/ˈboʊlɪŋ/ in IPA).
How do you use “bowling” in a sentence?
Here is “bowling” used in a sentence: “We went bowling on Friday night and I got two strikes.”
What part of speech is “bowling”?
“Bowling” is a noun.
Is “bowling” a common word?
“Bowling” is a fairly common word in modern English.
How many meanings does “bowling” have?
“Bowling” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a game in which a ball is rolled down a lane to knock over a set of standing pins.
What is the difference between bowling and bowls?
Bowling usually means the indoor game in which a ball is rolled down a lane to knock over a set of standing pins. Bowls, also called lawn bowls, is a different game, usually played outdoors on grass, in which players roll weighted balls as close as possible to a smaller target ball called the jack.
What is bowling in cricket?
In cricket, bowling is the action of delivering the ball toward the batsman. It is roughly cricket's counterpart to pitching in baseball, but the ball is delivered with a straight-arm action and usually bounces on the pitch before reaching the batsman.
How many pins are used in bowling?
Standard tenpin bowling uses ten pins arranged in a triangle at the end of the lane. Variants differ: candlepin and duckpin bowling also use ten smaller pins, while five-pin bowling, popular in Canada, uses five.
