kowtow /ˈkaʊˌtaʊ/verb 3noun 1forms 3 verb3 •To kneel and bow low enough to touch one’s forehead to the ground.When the weather turned cold, the tears that he shed would become frozen like veins; the blood on his forehead from kowtowing would also freeze and would not drip. — 2013 •To bow very deeply. •(disapproving, figurative) To grovel, act in a very submissive manner; to show obeisance to (someone or something) in such a manner; to bow.I suppose you're going to be nice to Odie and kowtow to Jon and lick the mailman's boots! I don't like you already. — 1984 noun1 •The act of kowtowing.Three elders dressed in their long silk ceremonial gowns perform the kowtow before the altar in their clan ancestral hall. — 1990 formskowtowed · kowtowing · kowtows
