Adjacent Words

Tow definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TOW, v.t. [L. duco.] To drag, as a boat or ship, through the water by means of a rope. Towing is performed by another boat or ship, or by men on shore, or by horses. Boats on canals are usually towed by horses.
TOW, n. [L. stupa.] The coarse and broken part of flax or hemp, separated from the finer part by the hatchel or swingle.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

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"

Merriam Webster's

I. verb Etymology: Middle English, from Old English togian; akin to Old English t?on 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 t? 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 tohl?ne towline); akin to Old English togian to tow Date: 14th century chiefly Scottish & dialect England rope

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. v. & n. --v.tr. 1 (of a motor vehicle, horse, or person controlling it) pull (a boat, another motor vehicle, a caravan, etc.) along by a rope, tow-bar, etc. 2 pull (a person or thing) along behind one. --n. the act or an instance of towing; the state of being towed. Phrases and idioms: have in (or on) tow 1 be towing. 2 be accompanied by and often in charge of (a person). tow-bar a bar for towing esp. a trailer or caravan. tow- (or towing-) line (or rope) a line etc. used in towing. tow- (or towing-) net a net used for dragging through water to collect specimens. tow- (or towing-) path a path beside a river or canal used for towing a boat by horse. Derivatives: towable adj. towage n. Etymology: OE togian f. Gmc, rel. to TUG 2. n. 1 the coarse and broken part of flax or hemp prepared for spinning. 2 a loose bunch of rayon etc. strands. Phrases and idioms: tow-coloured (of hair) very light. tow-head tow-coloured or unkempt hair. tow-headed having very light or unkempt hair. Derivatives: towy adj. Etymology: ME f. MLG touw f. OS tou, rel. to ON tó wool: cf. TOOL

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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 1913 Dictionary

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 1913 Dictionary

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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(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

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(Judg. 16:9). See FLAX.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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).

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. Refuse flax, hards. II. v. a. Draw (as a vessel, through the water), haul, drag, draw, pull, take in tow, tug.