tow truck

American

noun

wrecker.

tow truck British

noun

Also called: breakdown van. wrecker. a motor vehicle equipped for towing away wrecked or disabled cars

"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

Etymology

Origin of tow truck

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The video captures a car hooked up to a tow truck and what appears to be its owner running toward their vehicle.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026

San Bernardino resident April Zavala said her car was stolen around midnight one night in March by a white tow truck.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 6, 2026

One of the officers chased the tow truck on foot and saw that the suspect was ‘laughing’ as he recorded the officer with his cellphone, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 20, 2025

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—From the cab of his tow truck, George Dowdy clicked a remote control to slide the boom under a parked Chevy Trax and grab its front tires.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 28, 2025

His sister lifted out his blue tow truck and put it on the floor.

From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023