bowline

2 definitions • 3 examples

a rope attaching one side of a square sail to a ship's bow (= front part):

We've let loose the bowline and we're drifting.

a simple type of knot for making a loop (= a circle) that does not slip at the end of a rope:

He finally got a loop of rope around the bumper, pulled it tight, and then tied another bowline.

He tied a clumsy bowline knot around the branch.