Standard Lemma guide

longbow

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈlɒŋbəʊ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɒŋbəʊ
  • CMU ARPABET: L AO1 NG B OW2 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A large bow that has a strong tension, and is usually more than 3 feet tall. The most famous longbows in history were the English longbows, which were crafted of yew.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a powerful wooden bow drawn by hand; usually 5-6 feet long; used in medieval England

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: bow

History

Etymology

From long + bow.

Across languages

Translations

29 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: arc llarg — large bow
  • Chinese Mandarin: 長弓 /长弓 — large bow
  • Chinese Mandarin: 大弓 (dàgōng) — large bow
  • Danish: langbue — large bow
  • Dutch: langboog — large bow
  • Estonian: pikkvibu — large bow
  • Finnish: pitkäjousi — large bow
  • French: arc long anglais — large bow
  • German: Langbogen — large bow
  • Greek: τόξο (tóxo) — large bow
  • Hebrew: קשת ארוכה (keshet aruka) — large bow
  • Hindi: धनुष्य (dhanuṣya) — large bow
  • Hungarian: hosszúíj — large bow
  • Irish: bogha fada — large bow
  • Japanese: 弓 (yumi) — large bow
  • Japanese: ロングボウ — large bow
  • Japanese: 大弓 (daikyū) — large bow
  • Korean: 장궁 (janggung) — large bow
  • Macedonian: долг лак (dolg lak) — large bow
  • Marathi: धनुष्य (dhanuṣya) — large bow
  • Norwegian Bokmål: langbue — large bow
  • Polish: długi łuk — large bow
  • Portuguese: arco longo — large bow
  • Russian: большо́й лук (bolʹšój luk) — large bow
  • Russian: лук (luk) — large bow
  • Spanish: arco largo — large bow
  • Swedish: långbåge — large bow
  • Võro: pikkvibu — large bow
  • Waray-Waray: halaba nga pana — large bow