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View synonyms for tow

tow

1

[ toh ]

verb (used with object)

  1. 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: tug, draw, trail



noun

  1. an act or instance of towing.
  2. something being towed.
  3. something, as a boat or truck, that tows.
  4. 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

  1. the fiber of flax, hemp, or jute prepared for spinning by beating.
  2. the shorter, less desirable flax fibers separated from line fibers in combing.
  3. synthetic filaments prior to spinning.

adjective

  1. made of tow.

tow

3

[ toh ]

noun

, Scot.
  1. a rope.

TOW

4

[ toh ]

noun

, Military.
  1. 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

/ təʊ /

verb

  1. tr to pull or drag (a vehicle, boat, etc), esp by means of a rope or cable
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


noun

  1. the act or an instance of towing
  2. the state of being towed (esp in the phrases in tow, under tow, on tow )
  3. something towed
  4. something used for towing
  5. in tow
    in one's charge or under one's influence
  6. informal.
    (in motor racing, etc) the act of taking advantage of the slipstream of another car (esp in the phrase get a tow )
  7. short for ski tow
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

tow

2

/ təʊ /

noun

  1. the fibres of hemp, flax, jute, etc, in the scutched state
  2. synthetic fibres preparatory to spinning
  3. the coarser fibres discarded after combing
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈtowable, adjective
  • ˈtowy, adjective
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Other Words From

  • towa·ble adjective
  • towa·bili·ty noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of tow1

First recorded before 1000; Middle English verb touen, towe, Old English togian “to pull by force, drag, pull”; cognate with Middle High German zogen, German ziehen “to draw, tug, drag”; the noun is derivative of the verb; tug

Origin of tow2

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English tou, tow(e), tough “unworked flax,” Old English tōw- (in tōwlīc “pertaining to weaving,” tōwhūs “spinning house”); akin to Old Norse “wool”

Origin of tow3

First recorded in 1500–20; late Middle English (Scots); Old English toh- (in tohlīne “towline”); cognate with Old Norse tog “rope, line, towline”; tow 1

Origin of tow4

First recorded in 1970–75; abbreviation of t(ube-launched), o(ptically-guided), w(ire-tracked missile)
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Word History and Origins

Origin of tow1

Old English togian; related to Old Frisian togia, Old Norse toga, Old High German zogōn

Origin of tow2

Old English tōw; related to Old Saxon tou, Old Norse tuft of wool, Dutch touwen to spin
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. in tow,
    1. in the state of being towed.
    2. under one's guidance; in one's charge.
    3. as a follower, admirer, or companion:

      a professor who always had a graduate student in tow.

  2. under tow, in the condition of being towed; in tow.

More idioms and phrases containing tow

see in tow .
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Example Sentences

Trump even gave Jackson a personal tour of the venue, with television cameras in tow.

The driver then got on the highway and started going "well above the speed limit," with the taxi inspector still in tow.

The rebels used, among other weapons, TOW missiles recently supplied by the U.S. to Harakat Hazm.

The police vehicles take off from the parking lot with Booker and Fulop in tow.

Send Obama to the American Medical Association and the National Medical Association with Murthy in tow to make the case.

They require frequent cleaning with a long wire and a bit of tow, and in some large towns there are professional pipe-cleaners.

The boat was now hoisted out and sent ahead to tow, but we could not succeed in getting the vessel's head round.

Again it was empty except for the operator, a tow-headed kid with a Racing Form tucked in a side pocket.

Without her powerful engines to tow it to windward of the wrecks the lifeboat would be much, very much, less useful than it is.

These matches were fuses of some slow-burning fiber, like tow, which would keep a spark for a considerable time.

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Related Words

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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