bowl over
B2 neutral separable transitive
In simple words
To knock someone down, or to surprise and impress someone so much that they can hardly believe it.
Literal meaning: To roll a ball at something and knock it over, as in the sport of bowling.
Meanings
1 B1 neutral
To knock someone down physically, usually by crashing into them.
"The large dog bowled him over as he came through the front door."
Grammar: separable
2 B2
idiomatic
informal
To greatly impress, astonish, or overwhelm someone, usually in a positive way.
"I was completely bowled over by the kindness of the local people during my trip."
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
The figurative sense (to greatly impress) is very common and is mostly used in the passive: 'I was bowled over by...' Common in British English but understood in American English as well.
Commonly used with
completely totally absolutely generosity performance news
Forms
Base
bowl over
I/you/we/they
3rd person
bowls over
he/she/it
Past simple
bowled over
yesterday
Past participle
bowled over
have + pp
-ing form
bowling over
continuous
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Synonyms
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