towel
(taʊəl )
Word forms: towels , towelling , towelled regional note: in AM, use toweling, toweled
1. countable noun A2
A towel is a piece of thick soft cloth that you use to dry yourself.
...a bath towel.
2. verb B2
If you towel something or towel it dry, you dry it with a towel.
James came out of his bedroom, toweling his wet hair. [VERB noun]
I towelled myself dry. [VERB noun adjective]
He stepped out of the shower and began towelling himself down. [V n + down/off]
3. to throw in the towel phrase
If you throw in the towel, you stop trying to do something because you realize that you cannot succeed. [informal]
It seemed as if the police had thrown in the towel and were abandoning the investigation.
4. See also sanitary towel, tea towel
Image of towel
© Stockforlife, Shutterstock
Idioms:
throw in the towel
to stop trying to do something, because you know that you cannot succeed
It seemed, initially, as if the police had thrown in the towel and were planning to abandon the investigation, but the following day the interviews resumed.
Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Collocations:
fluffy towel warm towel wet towel wrap a towel around
There's wi-fi, electricity, duvets and fluffy towels.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Before long, we were drying ourselves on fluffy white towels and slipping between crisp, clean sheets.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Instead we were greeted by smiling staff armed with warm, fluffy towels and a glass of champagne.
The Sun (2013)
If your tan's too dark or uneven, mix lemon and lime juice with sea salt or sugar, then rub the mixture on to your skin with a warm towel.
The Sun
Take the towel warmer drawer, for example, which ensures that you emerge from the tub to a perfectly warmed towel.
Times, Sunday Times
They then wrapped me in warm towels and tinfoil to allow the detoxing process to activate.
Times, Sunday Times
Hope the curry house gave him one of those warm towels, too.
The Sun
Once you're covered, wrap yourself up in the warm towels - the heat will help the product sink in while speeding up its hydrating and/or anti-ageing skills.
The Sun
Followed by a too-large sprinkling of salt, then dabbing the meat with a wet towel to remove said salt, and adding 11 turns of pepper.
Times,Sunday Times
Lying in a dark room with a wet towel on the forehead.
Times, Sunday Times
If your workplace has showers, work out exactly what you will need: a towel, a bag for the wet towel, soap and so on.
Times,Sunday Times
Undeterred, she led protest marches, carrying a wet towel to protect herself from tear gas.
Times, Sunday Times
But she quickly smothered the flames with a wet towel while shouting for help, a court heard.
The Sun
You wrap the towel round her back, under her arms, and hold each end tightly.
Times, Sunday Times
Wrap the towel around the top of the post and hold on tightly to both ends.
Times,Sunday Times
She'd wrap a towel round me, and we'd sit and eat the warm, gritty sandwiches that she'd made six hours earlier.
Times, Sunday Times
I wrap a towel around myself, slip on the plastic shoes, and press the red button on the wall.
Times, Sunday Times
Wrap a towel around your weight to stop it moving in your backpack and use another to fill spaces in your pack.
Times, Sunday Times
Translations:
Chinese: 毛巾, 用毛巾擦干
Japanese: タオル, タオルで乾かす
- advertising copywriter
- advertising department
- advertising design
- advertising dollars
- advertising executive
- advertising expenditure
- advertising firm
- advertising guidelines
- advertising income
- advertising industry
- advertising jingle
- advertising manager
- advertising medium
- advertising message
- advertising network
- advertising page
- advertising product
- advertising restrictions
- advertising revenue
- advertising slogan
- advertising space
- advertising spend
- advertising spending
- advertorial
- advice