Mark refused to kowtow to the committee and decided to work as a consultant.
English Idioms & idiomatic expressions. 2014.
kowtow — ► VERB 1) historical kneel and touch the ground with the forehead in submission as part of Chinese custom. 2) be excessively subservient towards someone. ORIGIN Chinese … English terms dictionary
kowtow — kow|tow [ˌkauˈtau] v [i]informal [Date: 1800 1900; : Chinese; Origin: ke tou to hit your head ; because when you bow very low you hit your head on the floor] to be too eager to obey or be polite to someone in authority kowtow to ▪ We will not… … Dictionary of contemporary English
kowtow — UK [ˌkaʊˈtaʊ] / US [kaʊˈtaʊ] / US [ˈkaʊˌtaʊ] verb [intransitive] Word forms kowtow : present tense I/you/we/they kowtow he/she/it kowtows present participle kowtowing past tense kowtowed past participle kowtowed showing disapproval to try very… … English dictionary
kowtow — do as someone wishes, brown nose, suck up to Marie won t kowtow to anyone. She s proud and independent … English idioms
kowtow to — be excessively subservient towards someone. → kowtow … English new terms dictionary
kowtow — [kaʊ taʊ] verb 1》 (often kowtow to) be excessively subservient towards someone. 2》 historical kneel and touch the ground with the forehead in submission as part of Chinese custom. noun historical an act of kowtowing. Derivatives kowtower noun… … English new terms dictionary
kowtow — verb 1) they kowtowed to the emperor Syn: prostrate oneself before, bow (down) to/ before, genuflect to/before, do/make obeisance to/before, fall on one s knees before, kneel before 2) she didn t have to kowtow to a boss Syn: grovel to, be… … Thesaurus of popular words
kowtow — [[t]ka͟ʊta͟ʊ[/t]] kowtows, kowtowing, kowtowed also kow tow VERB (disapproval) If you say that someone kowtows to someone else, you are criticizing them because they are too eager to obey or be polite to someone in authority. [INFORMAL] [V to n]… … English dictionary
kowtow — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) v. i. salaam, bow down, genuflect; fawn, cringe. See obedience, respect, servility. II (Roget s 3 Superthesaurus) v. bow, kneel, stoop, genuflect, bow and scrape, kiss feet, *kiss up, *brownnose, toady,… … English dictionary for students
kowtow — kow|tow [ kau tau, kau,tau ] verb intransitive to try very hard to please someone, in a way that other people find annoying: He was a proud man who kowtowed to nobody … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
