Definition of "bowline" [bow•line]

• Nautical A rope attached to the weather leech of a square sail to hold the leech forward when sailing close-hauled. (noun)
• A knot forming a loop that does not slip. (noun)
• On a bowline Nautical Close-hauled. (idiom)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Just that fast, with one hand, there was a friggin 'bowline in the middle of it."
• "The bowline is great but only if you need a loop that won't slip."
• "It was not that rare of a knot, but the bowline was the common preference."