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tow
1[toh]
verb (used with object)
to pull or haul (a car, barge, trailer, etc.) by a rope, chain, or other device.
The car was towed to the service station.
Synonyms: , ,
noun
an act or instance of towing.
something being towed.
something, as a boat or truck, that tows.
a rope, chain, metal bar, or other device for towing.
The trailer is secured to the car by a metal tow.
tow
2[toh]
noun
the fiber of flax, hemp, or jute prepared for spinning by beating.
the shorter, less desirable flax fibers separated from line fibers in combing.
synthetic filaments prior to spinning.
adjective
made of tow.
tow
3[toh]
noun
a rope.
TOW
4[toh]
noun
a U.S. Army antitank missile, steered to its target by two thin wires connected to a computerized launcher, which is mounted on a vehicle or helicopter.
tow
1/ əʊ /
verb
(tr) to pull or drag (a vehicle, boat, etc), esp by means of a rope or cable
noun
the act or an instance of towing
the state of being towed (esp in the phrases in tow, under tow, on tow )
something towed
something used for towing
in one's charge or under one's influence
informal(in motor racing, etc) the act of taking advantage of the slipstream of another car (esp in the phrase get a tow )
short for ski tow
tow
2/ əʊ /
noun
the fibres of hemp, flax, jute, etc, in the scutched state
synthetic fibres preparatory to spinning
the coarser fibres discarded after combing
Other Word Forms
- towable adjective
- towability noun
- ˈٴǷɲ adjective
- ˈٴǷɲ adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of tow1
Origin of tow2
Origin of tow3
Origin of tow4
Word History and Origins
Origin of tow1
Origin of tow2
Idioms and Phrases
in tow,
in the state of being towed.
under one's guidance; in one's charge.
as a follower, admirer, or companion.
a professor who always had a graduate student in tow.
under tow, in the condition of being towed; in tow.
Example Sentences
I’m a sucker for people who become accidental academics through obsession, the kind of folks who fall so deep into a personal passion that they emerge with a whole taxonomy in tow.
Two 2018 engines were damaged in collisions, including one with “heavy damage” to the rear body that had to be towed in, according to notes for an order from last July.
They submitted what the department called “staged photographs” of the damaged Bentley on a tow truck.
“I was trying to tow another truck out,” said Elliott, the owner of Elliott’s Performance, an auto repair shop about 100 yards away from the sinkhole.
Survivors later told the BBC that Greek coastguards had caused their boat to capsize in a botched attempt to tow it and then silenced witnesses.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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