Wiktionary
n. a modern bow that uses pulleys and cables to help with the drawing and releasing of the bowstring
Wikipedia
A compound bow is a modern bow that uses a levering system, usually of cables and pulleys, to bend the limbs.
The pulley/cam system grants the wielder a mechanical advantage, and so the limbs of a compound bow are much stiffer than those of a recurve bow or longbow. This rigidity makes the compound bow more energy-efficient than other bows, as less energy is dissipated in limb movement. The higher-rigidity, higher-technology construction also improves accuracy by reducing the bow's sensitivity to changes in temperature and humidity.
The pulley/cam system also confers a benefit called "let-off". As the string is drawn back, the pulleys rotate. The pulleys are eccentric rather than round, and so their effective radius changes as they rotate. The pulleys feature two cam tracks. An inner cam track which connects mechanically to the limbs or opposite cam and an outer cam track which the bowstring runs through. As the bow is drawn the ratio of bowstring pay-out and bowstring take-up relative to limb-weight and leverage of the cams changes. By manipulation of the shapes of these cam tracks, different draw-stroke profiles can be created. A compound bow can be soft-drawing with a slow build-up to peak weight and a gradual let-off with a long "valley" at the end. It can also be hard-drawing with a very fast build-up to peak draw-weight, a long plateau where weight is maintained, and a quick let-off with a short valley. The let-off itself is the result of the cam profiles having passed center and approaching a condition very similar to a cam-lock. In fact some compound bows, if the draw-stops or draw-length modules are removed, will self-lock at full draw and require professional equipment to unlock safely.
The compound bow was first developed in 1966 by Holless Wilbur Allen in Billings, Missouri, and a US patent was granted in 1969. The compound bow has become increasingly popular. In the United States, the compound is the dominant form of bow.
In literature of the early 20th century, before the invention of compound bows, composite bows were described as "compound". This usage is now outdated.
Usage examples of "compound bow".
For most of history those battles happen only every few centuries--you have the chariot, the compound bow, gunpowder, ironclad ships, and so on.
Stirling asked, nodding to the nearest heavy compound bow, made of horn and wood and requiring a strong man, indeed, to pull it.
Sir Dougal, even though they don't have the range of your compound bow.
While she changed, I fixed the quiver and compound bow to my pack.
A compound bow might not have survived being trampled, but this self bow and its horsehair cord were none the worse for the experience.
Blade saw a tall black man on the roof across the street let an arrow from a compound bow.
It was a compound bow, that required the least exertion after it had been pulled back.
Besides a compound bow and quiver on one side, there was a scabbard on the other for two double-barreled shotguns, and the crew was now three, like a Hittite war-cart—.
Besides a compound bow and quiver on one side, there was a scabbard on the other for two double-barreled shotguns, and the crew was now three, like a Hittite war-cart one being a loader for the warrior who captained the vehicle.
Maggi stood above them on the quarterdeck, a compound bow held ready, arrow nocked, other shafts in a case hooked over the rail.
Jesus would play his role and would be armed with a kick-ass compound bow, about to ambush a bunch of Roman soldiers, who'd been torturing Christians.
Just before I started this novel, I bought a compound bow, and during the novel I learned to hit the target (never anything living) with increasing accuracy.
Whitby had fashioned himself a proper climbing pick which he slid into the loop at his belt, then stuffed pitons into thigh pockets and secured the short compound bow and quiver of arrows to the harness on his back.
Hendriksson rose to one knee and drew an arrow through her compound bow.
He was short and full-bellied, but surprisingly agile and a good shot with his curved compound bow of horn and wood.