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tow - 13 dictionary results
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tow

1  [toh] ,
Use tow in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to pull or haul (a car, barge, trailer, etc.) by a rope, chain, or other device: The car was towed to the service station.
–noun
2. an act or instance of towing.
3. something being towed.
4. something, as a boat or truck, that tows.
5. a rope, chain, metal bar, or other device for towing: The trailer is secured to the car by a metal tow.
6. ski tow.
—Idioms
7. in tow,
a. in the state of being towed.
b. under one's guidance; in one's charge.
c. as a follower, admirer, or companion: a professor who always had a graduate student in tow.
8. under tow, in the condition of being towed; in tow.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME towen (v.), OE togian to pull by force, drag; c. MHG zogen to draw, tug, drag. See tug

Related forms:
tow⋅a⋅ble, adjective
tow⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun

Synonyms:
1. trail, draw, tug.
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tow

2  [toh] ,
–noun
1. the fiber of flax, hemp, or jute prepared for spinning by scutching.
2. the shorter, less desirable flax fibers separated from line fibers in hackling.
3. synthetic filaments prior to spinning.
–adjective
4. made of tow.
Origin:
1300–50; ME; OE tōw- (in tōwlīc pertaining to thread, tōwhūs spinning house); akin to ON tō wool

tow

3  [toh] ,
–noun Scot.
a rope.
Origin:
1425–75; late ME (Scots); OE toh- (in tohlīne towline); c. ON tog towline. See tow 1

TOW

  [toh] ,
–noun
a U.S. Army antitank missile, steered to its target by two thin wires connected to a computerized launcher, which is mounted on a vehicle or helicopter.
Origin:
t(ube-launched,) o(ptically-guided,) w(ire-tracked missile)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To tow
tow 1   (tō)   
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.
tow 2   (tō)   
n.  Coarse broken flax or hemp fiber prepared for spinning. See Regional Note at gunnysack.

[Middle English, possibly from Old English tow-, spinning (in tow-cræft, spinning craft, spinning).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.

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.

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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : tow
Spanish: remolcar,
German: (ab-)schleppen,
Japanese: 綱で引く
More Translations »

tow  (v.)
"pull with a rope," O.E. togian "to drag, pull," from P.Gmc. *tugojanan (cf. O.E. teon "to draw," O.Fris. togia "to pull about," O.N. toga, O.H.G. zogon, Ger. ziehen "to draw, pull, drag"), from PIE base *deuk- "to pull, draw" (cf. L. ducere "to lead;" see duke). The noun meaning "act or fact of being towed" is recorded from 1622. Towaway, in ref. to parking zones, is recorded from 1956.

tow  (n.)
"coarse, broken fibers of flax, hemp, etc.," 1377, probably from O.E. tow- "spinning" (in towlic "fit for spinning"), perhaps cognate with Gothic taujan "to do, make," M.Du. touwen "to knit, weave." Tow-head, in ref. to tousled blond hair, is recorded from 1830.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Tow

(Judg. 16:9). See FLAX.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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tow

see in tow.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Search another word or see tow on Thesaurus | Reference
Business Incentive Fund
 Take advantage of Ontario’s $1.15 billion business incentive program
 InvestInOntario.com
Car Donation -Free Towing
 Free Towing and a Tax Receipt with a Car Donation. It's Quick & Easy
 TOWING4TOTS.org