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tower1

[tou-er]
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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. a tall, vertical case with accessible horizontal drive bays, designed to house a computer system standing on a desk or floor.Compare minitower.
  7. Aviation. control tower.
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verb (used without object)
  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.
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Idioms
  1. tower of strength, a person who can be relied on for support, aid, or comfort, especially in times of difficulty.
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Origin of tower1

before 900; (noun) Middle English tour, earlier tur, tor < Old French < Latin turris < Greek týrris, variant of týrsis tower; Middle English tor perhaps in some cases continuing Old English torr < Latin turris, as above; (v.) late Middle English touren, derivative of the noun
Related formstow·er·less, adjectivetow·er·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

transcendexceedloomtopoverlookascendsurpasssurmountdominatemountrearsoarovertop

Examples from the Web for towered

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • From an immense discouraging distance, they towered imminent.

    The Leopard Woman

    Stewart Edward White

  • It towered high over the clouds and rain; and none could say whereon it rested.

  • Then rising they towered, lifting brawny arms towards the stars.

    A Spirit in Prison

    Robert Hichens

  • It towered up there beautiful, strong, virile, and fruitful.

  • A block of flats, constructed with extreme cheapness, towered on either hand.

    Howards End

    E. M. Forster

British Dictionary definitions for towered

towered

adjective
    1. having a tower or towers
    2. (in combination)four-towered; high-towered
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tower

noun
  1. a tall, usually square or circular structure, sometimes part of a larger building and usually built for a specific purposea 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. tower of strength a person who gives support, comfort, etc
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verb
  1. (intr) to be or rise like a tower; loom
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Word Origin

C12: from Old French tur, from Latin turris, from Greek
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

Word Origin and History for towered

tower

n.

Old English torr, from Latin turris "high structure" (cf. Old French tor, 11c.; Spanish, Italian torre "tower"), possibly from a pre-Indo-European Mediterranean language. Also borrowed separately 13c. as tour, from Old French tur. The modern spelling first recorded in 1520s. Meaning "lofty pile or mass" is recorded from mid-14c.

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tower

v.

c.1400; see tower (n.). Related: Towered; towering.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with towered

tower

In addition to the idiom beginning with tower

  • tower of strength

also see:

  • ivory tower

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