tow1
/təʊ
/verb [with object]
1(Of a motor vehicle or boat) pull (another vehicle or boat) along with a rope, chain, or tow bar: a pickup van towing a trailer a man called to tow the car away the authorities refused to allow the tanker to be towed into their ports...
- They particularly want to hear from the occupants of two vehicles, a white caravanette and a car towing a caravan, who may have seen the accident.
- Not only cars pass me at these speeds but lorries and, would you believe, cars towing caravans!
- An hour or two later, the ferry tows the gigs home.
Synonyms
pull, draw, drag, haul, tug, trail, lug, heave, trawl, hoist, transport
informal yank
1.1(Of a person) pull along behind one: she saw Florian towing Nicky along by the hand...
- The shops are filled with wealthy women towing toddlers called Jamie or Arabella.
- You could tow him out to a village fête and charge children 50p to bounce on him.
- He passes me, and I tuck in behind, letting him tow me along.
noun [in singular]
1An act of towing a vehicle or boat: the cruiser got a tow from a warship after its engine failed...
- We stopped to give a tow to that stranded boat, the one with the two families on it.
- Realising the going would not be good on the Knavesmire for heavy traffic they decided to offer a tow to vehicles taking part in the Northern Motor Caravan Show.
- And if you find yourself getting tired, Matti will happily start up the outboard on his boat (outside Kolovesi NP) and give you a tow.
Synonyms
tug, towing, haul, pull, drawing, drag, trailing, trawl
1.1A rope or line used to tow a vehicle or boat.They were full of accounts of winter Sundays at a nearby country club that had just installed a rope tow and, even more maddening, of weekend ski trips to New Hampshire....
- When five-year-old Andrew strapped on skis for the first time, he begged his parents to let him go up the rope tow alone.
- Don't miss the tubing slope serviced by a rope tow - you'll feel like you're 10 again as you soar down the slopes on your Flexible Flyer.
Usage
The phrase is toe the line, not tow the line: see toe (usage).
Phrases
in tow
Derivatives
towable
- A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said the vehicle was badly damaged in the accident, and was having to undergo repairs to make it towable.
- You'll have to see it to believe it - the Manta Ray towable launches out of the water and hovers, making possible heart-stopping aerial maneuvers!
- But we also have what we call towable products, travel trailers, fifth-wheel trailers.
Origin
Old English togian 'draw, drag', of Germanic origin; related to tug. The noun dates from the early 17th century.
wanton from Middle English:
The spelling in Middle English was wantowen ‘rebellious, lacking discipline’, from wan- ‘badly’ and Old English togen ‘trained’ (related to team and tow (Old English)).
Rhymes
tow2
/təʊ/noun [mass noun]
1The coarse and broken part of flax or hemp prepared for spinning.In this process, which is much faster than that using guillotine cutters, tow is dyed, finished, cut, dried, screened, and bagged in one continuous operation....
- The bales of finished fibre were sold to rope and twine makers, locally or overseas, while the short tangled tow teased out by the scutcher, went to furniture makers for stuffing armchairs and sofas.
1.1 [count noun] A bundle of untwisted natural or man-made fibres.
Derivatives
towy
Origin
Old English (recorded in towcræft 'spinning'), of Germanic origin.
TOW3
abbreviation
Tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided (missile).