tow truck

noun

1. wrecker ( def 3 ).

tow truck

noun

1. a motor vehicle equipped for towing away wrecked or disabled cars Also calledbreakdown vanUS and Canadianwrecker

Word History and Origins

Origin of tow truck¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Officers with CHP’s San Jose office posted photos on the social media site X, showing crews slowly dismantling the plane and placing it on a tow truck.

From Los Angeles Times

Massachusetts police had to call in a tow truck to remove a giant great white shark after it washed up dead on a beach in Cape Cod.

From BBC

The video shows the truck reversing with its wheel-lift lowered, attempting to hook the front wheels of a silver Honda sedan, which kept reversing to avoid the tow truck.

From Los Angeles Times

The temperature in the 40s might have kept the bees from getting rowdier during the several hours it took to get the truck upright and removed by a tow truck, he said.

From Seattle Times

She was arrested after police said she pulled a knife on a tow truck driver who drove her to a beach on Chicago’s lakefront.

From Seattle Times