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towering

 - 5 dictionary results

tow⋅er⋅ing

  [tou-er-ing]
Use towering in a Sentence
–adjective
1. very high or tall; lofty: a towering oak.
2. surpassing others; very great: a towering figure in American poetry.
3. rising to an extreme degree of violence or intensity: a towering rage.
4. beyond the proper or usual limits; inordinate; excessive: towering pride; towering ambitions.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME; see tower 1 , -ing 2

Related forms:
tow⋅er⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. elevated. See high.

Antonyms:
1. short.

tow⋅er

1  [tou-er]
–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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To towering
tow·er   (tou'ər)   
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.]
tow·er·ing   (tou'ər-ĭng)   
adj.  

  1. Of imposing height.

  2. Outstanding; preeminent: a towering intellect.

  3. Very great or intense: a towering rage.

tow'er·ing·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

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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