a bow (weapon) that has pulleys set on its limbs, often at the ends of its limbs
a modern bow that has pulley s or cam s at the end of each limb through which the bow string passes
The fancy bow you see on the shooting line with several bow strings and eccentric wheels at both end of the limbs. These bows use eccentric wheels on the limbs to improve its mechanical efficiency. Real hi-tech stuff.
A hand-drawn, hand-held bow that for similar poundage at full draw, stores more energy than a recurve bow through the use of two cables and two eccentric wheels. Most modern compound bows have a 65% let-off of the peak draw poundage at full draw, e.g. a compound bow of 60lb. peak weight will have a holding weight of approx. 21lb. at full draw.
A Bow that uses a system of cams or levers, pulleys, and cables to control the force the archer must apply as the bowstring is drawn. Peak weight usually occurs during the first half of the draw cycle with a reduction of draw force at full draw.
A bow with one or two cams that provide let-off and power.
A compound bow is a modern bow that uses pulleys or cams, usually at the end of each limb to amplify the amount of force delivered to the arrow greatly increasing its speed of flight. As the bow is pulled back (drawn) the pulleys or cams turn which, in turn, reduce the amount of force needed to completely draw the bow. Upon release of the bowstring the turning of the pulleys or cams cause the bowstring to accelerate at a much higher rate imparting much more of the stored energy to the forward motion of the arrow.