tower

¹ American  

[tau-er] / ˈtaʊ ər /

noun

1. a building or structure high in proportion to its lateral dimensions, either isolated or forming part of a building.

2. such a structure used as or intended for a stronghold, fortress, prison, etc.

3. any of various fully enclosed fireproof housings for vertical communications, as staircases, between the stories of a building.

4. any structure, contrivance, or object that resembles or suggests a tower.

5. a tall, movable structure used in ancient and medieval warfare in storming a fortified place.

6. Computers. a tall, vertical case with accessible horizontal drive bays, designed to house a computer system standing on a desk or floor.

7. Aviation. control tower.

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verb (used without object)

• towers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• towered,
  past participle,  past
• towering
  present participle

1. to rise or extend far upward, as a tower; reach or stand high.

   The skyscraper towers above the city.

2. to rise above or surpass others.

   She towers above the other students.

3. Falconry. (of a hawk) to rise straight into the air; to ring up.

idioms

1. tower of strength, a person who can be relied on for support, aid, or comfort, especially in times of difficulty.

tower ² American  

[toh-er] / ˈtoʊ ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that tows.

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tower British  

/ ˈtaʊə /

noun

1. a tall, usually square or circular structure, sometimes part of a larger building and usually built for a specific purpose

   a church tower

   a control tower

2. a place of defence or retreat

3. a mobile structure used in medieval warfare to attack a castle, etc

4. a person who gives support, comfort, etc

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verb

1. (intr) to be or rise like a tower; loom

tower More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing tower

• ivory tower

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• towerless
  adjective
• towerlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• towering
  present
• towered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• tower
  simple
• towers
  simple
• have towered
  perfect
• has towered
  perfect
• am towering
  progressive
• are towering
  progressive
• is towering
  progressive
• have been towering
  perfect progressive
• has been towering
  perfect progressive

Past

• towered
  simple
• had towered
  perfect
• was towering
  progressive
• were towering
  progressive
• had been towering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will tower
  simple
• will have towered
  perfect
• will be towering
  progressive
• will have been towering
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of tower¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun tour, earlier tur, tor, from Old French tur, tor, from Latin turris, from Greek týrris, variant of týrsis “tower”; Middle English tor perhaps continuing Old English torr, from Latin turris, as above

Origin of tower²

First recorded in 1485–95; tow ¹ + -er ¹

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Explanation

A tower is a tall structure, with the diameter of its base less than its height. Rapunzel lived in a tower. If you have a super tall friend and you're short, you could say they tower over you. Towers can come in handy––you can build one and climb to the top, looking out for approaching enemies, or in the case of a fire tower, for early signs of forest fires. One of the most famous towers is the Tower of London, with its long-held reputation as a place of torture and execution. Most people are surprised to learn that only seven people were executed in the Tower.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tower towers towered towering

Our phone numbers are through Tello, a mobile virtual-network operator that rents tower space from T-Mobile.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

Tishman Speyer is no stranger to the famous 77-story office tower: the developer bought the lease at auction in 1997 and finished fully divesting from it in 2019.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

The current owners have secured city permission to build a 41-story apartment or condo tower on top of the Bloc’s original 12-story garage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

“When private planes are coming, the tower has to let them land—despite the commercial scheduling—and it messes people up,” says Fletcher, wearing a dapper suit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Rows of sturdy pipes ran up the back of the tower.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

It also makes the upcoming launch of Starlink Mobile, slated for 2027, more cost-effective, as low-bandwidth spectrum requires fewer cell towers than higher-frequency bands.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

Barron’s said towers were the “hidden winners” from SpaceX’s plans, as they may gain a major new customer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Cortizo and I were surrounded by towers of crates as we spoke, at the end of the longest freight rail link in the world.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Customs and Border Protection for hundreds of autonomous surveillance towers along the southern border.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

The Greek historian Herodotus described it as a stack of eight stepped towers, with gates of solid brass and 120 lions in brightly colored, glazed tiles leading to it.

From "The Annotated Mona Lisa" by Carol Strickland and John Boswell

The team's famous software engineering was immortalised in a 1969 photograph of Hamilton standing beside the stack of printed code that towered beside her.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

LE PORGE, France — A monster fire-induced thundercloud towered over Bordeaux this summer, the first time firefighters had ever seen this type of ominous smoke-and-lightning weather system in France.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

A tsunami of that size would have towered more than 330 feet above sea level, higher than many modern skyscrapers.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 30, 2026

As he swept his sidewalk, Rivera nodded to the mural of Chavez that towered above children playing Thursday at Cesar Chavez Elementary School.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026

The immigration officers, who towered over everyone, searched the ranch for other undocumented residents, but found none.

From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez

This diversity is driven by diverse habitats: harsh deserts, vast grasslands, dense forests, towering mountains, lush coastlines and teeming seas.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026

A question has bedeviled a wealthy Lake Tahoe enclave for years: Who is poisoning the towering trees that stand sentry on the lake’s North Shore?

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

"Today the issue is survival," added the mayor, a towering former world heavyweight champion boxer who has served as Kyiv mayor since 2014.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

There is no doubt he remains a towering figure in the left.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

The rowboat was pulled up the side of a towering wall of water.

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

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