cow
verb/kaʊ/
/kaʊ/
[usually passive]Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they cow | /kaʊ/ /kaʊ/ |
| he / she / it cows | /kaʊz/ /kaʊz/ |
| past simple cowed | /kaʊd/ /kaʊd/ |
| past participle cowed | /kaʊd/ /kaʊd/ |
| -ing form cowing | /ˈkaʊɪŋ/ /ˈkaʊɪŋ/ |
- to frighten somebody in order to make them obey you synonym intimidate
- be cowed (by somebody/something) She was easily cowed by people in authority.
- Two judges have refused to be cowed by pressure from the government.
- be cowed into (doing) something They were wrong if they thought she could be cowed into submission by threats.
Word Originverb late 16th cent.: probably from Old Norse kúga ‘oppress’.
Check pronunciation:
cow