TOW DEFINITIONS - 15 definitions found
tow n 1: the act of hauling something (as a vehicle) by means of a hitch or rope; "the truck gave him a tow to the garage" [syn: tow, towage] v 1: drag behind; "Horses used to tow barges along the canal" tow two wot wto owt tow ̈ɪtəu See: IN TOW. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003) tow I. verb Etymology: Middle English, from Old English togian; akin to Old English tēon to draw, pull, Old High German ziohan to draw, pull, Latin ducere to draw, lead Date: before 12th century transitive verb to draw or pull along behind ; haul <tow a wagon> intransitive verb to move in tow <trailers that tow behind the family auto — Bob Munger> II. noun Date: 1600 1. a rope or chain for towing 2. a. the act or an instance of towing b. the fact or state of being towed 3. a. something towed (as a boat or car) b. a group of barges lashed together and usually pushed 4. a. something (as a tugboat) that tows b. ski tow III. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English tow- spinning; akin to Old Norse tō tuft of wool for spinning, Old English tawian to prepare for use — more at taw Date: 14th century 1. short or broken fiber (as of flax, hemp, or synthetic material) that is used especially for yarn, twine, or stuffing 2. a. yarn or cloth made of tow b. a loose essentially untwisted strand of synthetic fibers IV. noun Etymology: Middle English (Scots), probably from Old English toh- (in tohlīne towline); akin to Old English togian to tow Date: 14th century chiefly Scottish & dialect England rope Oxford English Reference Dictionary
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner\'s English Dictionary tow (tows, towing, towed) 1. If one vehicle tows another, it pulls it along behind it. He had been using the vehicle to tow his work trailer... They threatened to tow away my car... The British navy boarded the vessel and towed it to New York. VERB: V n, V n with adv, V n prep 2. If you have someone in tow, they are following you closely because you are looking after them or you are leading them somewhere. (INFORMAL) There she was on my doorstep with child in tow... PHRASE: with n PHR, PHR after v Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Tow \Tow\, n. [OE. tow, AS. tow, akin to OD. touw, Icel. ? a tuft of wool for spinning; cf. E. taw, v.t.] The coarse and broken part of flax or hemp, separated from the finer part by the hatchel or swingle. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Tow \Tow\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Towed; p. pr. & vb. n. Towing.] [OE. towen, to?en; akin to OFries. toga to pull about, OHG. zog[=o]n, Icel. toga, AS. tohline a towline, and AS.te['o]n to draw, p. p. getogen. See Tug] To draw or pull through the water, as a vessel of any kind, by means of a rope. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Tow \Tow\, n. [Cf. Icel. taug a rope, from the same root as E. tow, v. t.] 1. A rope by which anything is towed; a towline, or towrope. 2. The act of towing, or the state of being towed; --chiefly used in the phrase, to take in tow, that is to tow. 3. That which is towed, or drawn by a towline, as a barge, raft, collection of boats, ect. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia TOW to (ne`oreth (Jud 16:9; Isa 1:31)): The coarser part of flax, with short threads, used as an example of easily inflammable material. Also Isa 43:17 the King James Version for pishtah, the usual word for "flax" (so the English Revised Version), here as used for a wick (so the American Standard Revised Version, the English Revised Version margin). Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary Tow (Judg. 16:9). See FLAX. Tow, TX Zip code(s): 78672 Soule\'s Dictionary of English Synonyms tow I. n. Refuse flax, hards. II. v. a. Draw (as a vessel, through the water), haul, drag, draw, pull, take in tow, tug. English Explanatory Dictionary (Synonyms) tow ̈ɪtəu v. pull, drag, draw, haul, lug, trail, tug, trawl: The boat was towing a long purse seine. I arrived just as the police were towing away my car. |
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