Yes, bowing in worship to something other than God is "idolatry." Mere bowing, however, is not. (Unless bowing to Queen Elizabeth II equates to "worshiping" her...?)
NOTE: Where there is no WORSHIP, there is no "IDOLATRY."
Gaudium de veritate,
Cruciform
+T+
That is not what God says.
"You shall
not bow down to them
or worship them." - Holy Spirit
The thesaurus gives these synonyms for worship: adulate, honor, glorify, edify, deify. The Greek word most often translated "worship" is proskuneo, meaning "to kiss, make obeisance, reverence." Strong's defines it as "to fawn or crouch to, i.e. (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore)." The picture of being prostrate or bowed down is often associated with worship.
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for "worship" is shachah, defined as "to depress, i.e. prostrate (especially reflexive, in homage to royalty or God)." This word is also translated in the Authorized Version as "bow down, crouch, fall down, humbly beseech, do obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship."