Bowed to the dopes gathered outside (7)
I believe the answer is:
stooped
'bowed' is the definition.
('stoop' can be a synonym of 'bow')
'to the dopes gathered outside' is the wordplay.
'gathered' indicates an anagram.
'outside' is an insertion indicator.
'dopes' anagrammed gives 'soped'.
'to' put inside 'soped' is 'STOOPED'.
(Other definitions for stooped that I've seen before include "Crouched" , "Hunched" , "Bent while walking" .)