Dictionary.com

towel

[ tou-uhl, toul ]
/ ˈtaʊ əl, taʊl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR towel ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an absorbent cloth or paper for wiping and drying something wet, as one for the hands, face, or body after washing or bathing.

verb (used with object), tow·eled, tow·el·ing or (especially British) tow·elled, tow·el·ling.

to wipe or dry with a towel.

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Idioms for towel

    throw in the towel, Informal. to concede defeat; give up; yield: He vowed he would never throw in the towel.

Origin of towel

1250–1300; Middle English (noun) <Old French toaille cloth for washing or wiping <West Germanic *thwahliō (>Old High German dwahilla, akin to dwahal bath); cognate with Gothic thwahl, thwēal washing

Words nearby towel

towaway zone, tow bar, towboat, tow car, tow-coloured, towel, towelette, toweling, towelling, towel rack, towel rail
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to towel

sponge, cloth, dry, obliterate, rub, mop, remove, wash, erase, clean, dust, exhaust, drain, wilt, sear, evaporate, blot, wither, deplete, bake

Example sentences from the Web for towel

British Dictionary definitions for towel

towel
/ (ˈtaʊəl) /

noun

a square or rectangular piece of absorbent cloth or paper used for drying the body
a similar piece of cloth used for drying plates, cutlery, etc
throw in the towel See throw in (def. 4)

verb -els, -elling or -elled or US -els, -eling or -eled (tr)

to dry or wipe with a towel
(often foll by up) Australian slang to assault or beat (a person)

Word Origin for towel

C13: from Old French toaille, of Germanic origin; related to Old High German dwahal bath, Old Saxon twahila towel, Gothic thwahan to wash
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

Idioms and Phrases with towel

towel

see crying towel; throw in the sponge (towel).

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.