1 longbow | Definition of longbow

longbow

noun
long·​bow | \ ˈlȯŋ-ˌbō How to pronounce longbow (audio) \

Definition of longbow

: a hand-drawn wooden bow held vertically and used especially by medieval English archers

Examples of longbow in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Grab your longbow, braid your hair, and hop on the train to the Capital, because Suzanne Collins is taking us back to Panem. Meagan Fredette, refinery29.com, "The Hunger Games Aren’t Over — There’s A Prequel On The Way In 2020," 24 June 2019 The longbow and crossbow gave way to the firearm, the horse and rider gave way to the tank, and the battleship gave way to the aircraft carrier. Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Is the Age of the Aircraft Carrier Coming to an End?," 29 Aug. 2016 Here, Spink walks you through the process of making your own 68-inch Native American longbow, as well as the arrows. Andrew Del-colle And Lara Sorokanich, Popular Mechanics, "How to Make a Bow and Arrow By Hand," 5 June 2018 But the king outlawed Sunday soccer so that the men could practice with a lethal weapon of war: the English longbow. John Kass, chicagotribune.com, "Joy of Chicago's Croatians cresting as World Cup final with France approaches," 13 July 2018 For a Native American longbow, the 5 inches in the center should be narrower than the limbs—1¼ inches across, widening out to about 1½ inches. Andrew Del-colle And Lara Sorokanich, Popular Mechanics, "How to Make a Bow and Arrow By Hand," 5 June 2018 In his spare time, Mr. Hardy became a leading authority on the use of the longbow in medieval warfare. Washington Post, "Robert Hardy, actor in ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘All Creatures Great and Small,’ dies at 91," 3 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'longbow.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of longbow

14th century, in the meaning defined above

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More Definitions for longbow

longbow

noun

English Language Learners Definition of longbow

: a large wooden weapon (called a bow) that shot arrows and was used for hunting and fighting in the past

More from Merriam-Webster on longbow

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with longbow

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about longbow