Deck the Halls: Bow vs. Bough

What does each word mean?

The word bow describes a number of different things:

a curved piece of wood with taut strands that is used to play stringed instruments
a weapon for shooting arrows
the front of a ship
a type of knot formed with loops
the act of bending the head, body, or knee either in reverence or at the end of a performance
the act of yielding to someone else’s wishes.

Click here for the full Spellzone dictionary definition of the word.

Here is this bow used in some example sentences:

The violinist had a lucky bow.
She was known for her skill with a bow and arrow.
The bow of a ship is designed to reduce the resistance of the hull cutting through the water.
He tied his shoelaces into bows.
She bowed to her mother’s wishes.
At the end of the Nativity play, the children held hands and bowed.
He took a bow.

Click here to find Spellzone vocabulary lists related to the word bow.

A bough is a large tree branch.

Click here for the full Spellzone dictionary definition of the word.

Here is bough used in some example sentences:

Click here to find Spellzone vocabulary lists related to the word bough.

Are there any tricks to help remember the difference between bow and bough?

Bow and low are both spelt with the letters ow. Think of someone bending low in a bow or crouching low to tie their laces into bows.
Boughs, Over Us, Grow High

What words do you constantly mix up? Let us know and we’ll cover them in our Commonly Confused Words series.

15 Dec 2017
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