Meanings
- uncountableAn event at a bowling alley where the bowling takes place under special illumination, with lasers, music, etc.
For the uninitiated, cosmic bowling popped up on the west coast about a year ago and has slowly made its way east. It offers customers a chance to knock down a few pins in a jumping nightclub atmosphere.
1998, Funworld, volume 14, page 962 more examples
Faced with a 40 percent decline in league bowling (the primary source of bowling center revenues and profits), Brunswick developed the Cosmic Bowling concept to attract young people to its centers. The target market for cosmic bowling is Generation Yers and Xers, people in the 18-to-34 demographic group; however, the retail concept works for youngsters and even senior citizens. The nightclub atmosphere draws lots of high school students who aren't old enough to attend clubs.
2001, Michael Levy, Barton A. Weitz, Retailing Management, page 197You'll find plenty of spots around Memphis to go bowling, most of them open until midnight during the week and into the wee hours on the weekends. All of them rent shoes, and most offer cosmic bowling, so you can play under wild, psychedelic lights during set hours.
2008, Rebecca Finlayson, Insiders' Guide® to Memphis, page 192
Origin
Introduced as a trademark of Brunswick Corp.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
cosmic bowling. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cosmic%20bowling
“cosmic bowling.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cosmic%20bowling. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cosmic bowling,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cosmic%20bowling.
Source: cosmic bowling on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.