tow
1to pull or haul (a car, barge, trailer, etc.) by a rope, chain, or other device: The car was towed to the service station.
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.
Idioms about tow
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.
Origin of tow
1Other words for tow
Other words from tow
- tow·a·ble, adjective
- tow·a·bil·i·ty, noun
Words that may be confused with tow
- toe, tow
Words Nearby tow
Other definitions for tow (2 of 4)
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.
made of tow.
Origin of tow
2Other definitions for tow (3 of 4)
a rope.
Origin of tow
3Other definitions for TOW (4 of 4)
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.
Origin of TOW
4Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use tow in a sentence
Her car was ordered towed by clinic police, costing more than $200, she said.
The Startling Reach and Disparate Impact of Cleveland Clinic’s Private Police Force | by David Armstrong | September 28, 2020 | ProPublicaRing Car Alarm plugs into your car and monitors activities like break-ins or tows and then sends an alert to the app.
Amazon’s Fall 2020 products announcements include a security camera drone that flies around your house | Stan Horaczek | September 24, 2020 | Popular-ScienceIt has eight reinforced foam handles, a zippered valve cover, and a reinforced tow point for a safe and secure ride.
It was the longest the two of them had ever spent together, certainly the longest without their husbands in tow.
So far, Spot’s been mostly trialed in surveying and data collection, but as this video suggests, string enough Spots together, and they could tow your car.
The Robot Revolution Was Televised: Our All-Time Favorite Boston Dynamics Robot Videos | Jason Dorrier | July 19, 2020 | Singularity Hub
Trump even gave Jackson a personal tour of the venue, with television cameras in tow.
I Watched a Casino Kill Itself: The Awful Last Nights of Atlantic City’s Taj Mahal | Olivia Nuzzi | December 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe 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 Battle for Aleppo: A Decisive Fight for ISIS, Assad, and the USA | Jamie Dettmer | October 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe police vehicles take off from the parking lot with Booker and Fulop in tow.
The Ugly Truth About Cory Booker, New Jersey’s Golden Boy | Olivia Nuzzi | October 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSend 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.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.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.
The Floating Light of the Goodwin Sands | R.M. BallantyneThese matches were fuses of some slow-burning fiber, like tow, which would keep a spark for a considerable time.
The Wonder Book of Knowledge | Various
British Dictionary definitions for tow (1 of 2)
/ (təʊ) /
(tr) to pull or drag (a vehicle, boat, etc), esp by means of a rope or cable
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 tow 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
Origin of tow
1Derived forms of tow
- towable, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for tow (2 of 2)
/ (təʊ) /
the fibres of hemp, flax, jute, etc, in the scutched state
synthetic fibres preparatory to spinning
the coarser fibres discarded after combing
Origin of tow
2Derived forms of tow
- towy, adjective
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with tow
see in tow.
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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