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tower
11 dictionary results for: Tower
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
tow·er1       [tou-er] Pronunciation Key
–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.
–verb (used without object)
8.to rise or extend far upward, as a tower; reach or stand high: The skyscraper towers above the city.
9.to rise above or surpass others: She towers above the other students.
10.Falconry. (of a hawk) to rise straight into the air; to ring up.
—Idiom
11.tower of strength, a person who can be relied on for support, aid, or comfort, esp. in times of difficulty.
[Origin: bef. 900; (n.) ME tour, earlier tur, tor < OF < L turris < Gk týrris, var. of týrsis tower; ME tor perh. in some cases continuing OE torr < L turris, as above; (v.) late ME touren, deriv. of the n.]

—Related forms
tow·er·less, adjective
tow·er·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
tow·er2       [toh-er] Pronunciation Key
–noun
a person or thing that tows.
[Origin: 1485–95; tow1 + -er1]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
tow 1       (tō)  Pronunciation Key 
tr.v.   towed, tow·ing, tows
To draw or pull behind by a chain or line: a tugboat towing a barge. See Synonyms at pull.

n.  
    1. The act or an instance of towing.
    2. The condition of being towed: a car with a trailer in tow.
  2. Something, such as a tugboat, that tows.
  3. Something, such as a barge or car, that is towed.
  4. A rope or cable used in towing.


[Middle English towen, from Old English togian; see deuk- in Indo-European roots.]

tow'a·ble adj., tow'er n.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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tow·er       (tou'ər)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. A building or part of a building that is exceptionally high in proportion to its width and length.
  2. A tall, slender structure used for observation, signaling, or pumping.
  3. One that conspicuously embodies strength, firmness, or another virtue.
  4. Computer Science A computer system whose components are arranged in a vertical stack and housed in a tall, narrow cabinet.

intr.v.   tow·ered, tow·er·ing, tow·ers
  1. To appear at or rise to a conspicuous height; loom: "There he stood, grown suddenly tall, towering above them" (J.R.R. Tolkien). See Synonyms at rise.
  2. To fly directly upward before swooping or falling. Used of certain birds.
  3. To demonstrate great superiority; be preeminent: towers over other poets of the day.


[Middle English tur, tour, towr, from Old English torr and from Old French tur, both from Latin turris, probably from Greek tursis, turris.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
tower 
O.E. torr, from L. turris "high structure" (cf. O.Fr. tor, 11c.; Sp., It. torre "tower"), possibly from a pre-I.E. Mediterranean language. Also borrowed separately 13c. as tour, from O.Fr. tur. The modern spelling first recorded in 1526. Meaning "lofty pile or mass" is recorded from 1340. The verb is attested from c.1400.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
tower

noun
1. a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building 
2. anything that approximates the shape of a column or tower; "the test tube held a column of white powder"; "a tower of dust rose above the horizon"; "a thin pillar of smoke betrayed their campsite" [syn: column] 
3. a powerful small boat designed to pull or push larger ships [syn: tugboat] 

verb
1. appear very large or occupy a commanding position; "The huge sculpture predominates over the fountain"; "Large shadows loomed on the canyon wall" [syn: loom] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

tower

In addition to the idiom beginning with tower, also see ivory tower


The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Tower City, ND (city, FIPS 79340) Location: 46.92531 N, 97.67606 W
Population (1990): 233 (117 housing units)
Area: 5.4 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 58071

Tower City, PA (borough, FIPS 77184) Location: 40.58955 N, 76.55377 W
Population (1990): 1518 (676 housing units)
Area: 1.3 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 17980

Tower Hill, IL (village, FIPS 75848) Location: 39.38681 N, 88.95962 W
Population (1990): 601 (243 housing units)
Area: 2.6 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)

Tower Lakes, IL (village, FIPS 75874) Location: 42.23022 N, 88.15579 W
Population (1990): 1333 (434 housing units)
Area: 2.5 sq km (land), 0.3 sq km (water)

Tower, MI Zip code(s): 49792

Tower, MN (city, FIPS 65272) Location: 47.81007 N, 92.29047 W
Population (1990): 502 (275 housing units)
Area: 4.3 sq km (land), 1.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 55790

Shorewood-Tower Hills-Harbert, MI (CDP, FIPS 73730) Location: 41.88453 N, 86.62041 W
Population (1990): 1636 (1444 housing units)
Area: 11.8 sq km (land), 5.4 sq km (water)

Devils Tower, WY Zip code(s): 82714

Grand Tower, IL (city, FIPS 30770) Location: 37.63960 N, 89.50331 W
Population (1990): 775 (327 housing units)
Area: 3.3 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 62942

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tower

Tow"er\, n. [OE. tour,tor,tur, F. tour, L. turris; akin to Gr. ?; cf. W. twr a tower, Ir. tor a castle, Gael. torr a tower, castle. Cf. Tor, Turret.]

1. (Arch.) (a) A mass of building standing alone and insulated, usually higher than its diameter, but when of great size not always of that proportion. (b) A projection from a line of wall, as a fortification, for purposes of defense, as a flanker, either or the same height as the curtain wall or higher. (c) A structure appended to a larger edifice for a special purpose, as for a belfry, and then usually high in proportion to its width and to the height of the rest of the edifice; as, a church tower.

2. A citadel; a fortress; hence, a defense.

Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. --Ps. lxi. 3.

3. A headdress of a high or towerlike form, fashionable about the end of the seventeenth century and until 1715; also, any high headdress.

Lay trains of amorous intrigues In towers, and curls, and periwigs. --Hudibras.

4. High flight; elevation. [Obs.] --Johnson.

Gay Lussac's tower (Chem.), a large tower or chamber used in the sulphuric acid process, to absorb (by means of concentrated acid) the spent nitrous fumes that they may be returned to the Glover's tower to be reemployed. See Sulphuric acid, under Sulphuric, and Glover's tower, below.

Glover's tower (Chem.), a large tower or chamber used in the manufacture of sulphuric acid, to condense the crude acid and to deliver concentrated acid charged with nitrous fumes. These fumes, as a catalytic, effect the conversion of sulphurous to sulphuric acid. See Sulphuric acid, under Sulphuric, and Gay Lussac's tower, above.

Round tower. See under Round, a.

Shot tower. See under Shot.

Tower bastion (Fort.), a bastion of masonry, often with chambers beneath, built at an angle of the interior polygon of some works.

Tower mustard (Bot.), the cruciferous plant Arabis perfoliata.

Tower of London, a collection of buildings in the eastern part of London, formerly containing a state prison, and now used as an arsenal and repository of various objects of public interest.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Tower

Tow"er\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. towered; p. pr. & vb. n. towering.] To rise and overtop other objects; to be lofty or very high; hence, to soar.

On the other side an high rock towered still. --Spenser.

My lord protector's hawks do tower so well. --Shak.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Tower

Tow"er\, v. t. To soar into. [Obs.] --Milton.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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