tow

Also found in: Thesaurus, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

tow

pull or haul by a rope, chain, or other device: They had to tow my car.

Not to be confused with:

toe – a digit on the foot of certain mammals: He stubbed his toe.

tow¹

(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.

1. The act or an instance of towing: Can you give my car a tow?

a. Something, such as a tugboat, that tows.

b. Something, such as a barge or car, that is towed.

3. A rope or cable used in towing.

Idiom:

in tow

1. In a condition of being towed: a car with a trailer in tow.

2. Under close guidance; in one's charge: The new student was taken in tow by a peer counselor.

3. As a companion or follower: came to dinner with a friend in tow.

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

tow′a·ble adj.

tow′er n.

tow²

(tō)

1. Coarse broken flax or hemp fiber.

2. A continuous untwisted bundle of manufactured fibers.

[Middle English, possibly from Old English tow-, spinning (in towcræft, spinning craft, spinning).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

tow

(təʊ)

(tr) to pull or drag (a vehicle, boat, etc), esp by means of a rope or cable

1. the act or an instance of towing

2. the state of being towed (esp in the phrases in tow, under tow, on tow)

3. something towed

4. something used for towing

5. in tow in one's charge or under one's influence

6. (Motor Racing) informal (in motor racing, etc) the act of taking advantage of the slipstream of another car (esp in the phrase get a tow)

7. (Skiing) short for ski tow

[Old English togian; related to Old Frisian togia, Old Norse toga, Old High German zogōn]

ˈtowable adj

tow

(təʊ)

1. (Textiles) the fibres of hemp, flax, jute, etc, in the scutched state

2. (Textiles) synthetic fibres preparatory to spinning

3. (Textiles) the coarser fibres discarded after combing

[Old English tōw; related to Old Saxon tou, Old Norse tō tuft of wool, Dutch touwen to spin]

ˈtowy adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

tow¹

(toʊ)

v.t.

1. to pull or haul (a car, barge, trailer, etc.) by a rope, chain, or other device.

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.

6. ski tow.

Idioms:

1. 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.

2. under tow, in the condition of being towed; in tow.

[before 1000; Middle English; Old English togian to drag, c. Old Frisian togia, Old High German zogōn, Old Norse toga; akin to tug]

tow²

(toʊ)

n.

1. the fiber of flax, hemp, or jute prepared for spinning by scutching.

a. the shorter, less desirable fibers of flax, hemp, or jute separated in scutching and used for twine, yarn, etc.

b. yarn or fabric made from this.

[1350–1400; Middle English; Old English tōw- (in tōwlīc pertaining to thread, tōwhūs spinning house); akin to Old Saxon tou, Old Norse tō tow, wool]

Tow

a string of barges being towed, 1805.

tow

Past participle: towed
Gerund: towing

Imperative
tow
tow

Present
I tow
you tow
he/she/it tows
we tow
you tow
they tow

Preterite
I towed
you towed
he/she/it towed
we towed
you towed
they towed

Present Continuous
I am towing
you are towing
he/she/it is towing
we are towing
you are towing
they are towing

Present Perfect
I have towed
you have towed
he/she/it has towed
we have towed
you have towed
they have towed

Past Continuous
I was towing
you were towing
he/she/it was towing
we were towing
you were towing
they were towing

Past Perfect
I had towed
you had towed
he/she/it had towed
we had towed
you had towed
they had towed

Future
I will tow
you will tow
he/she/it will tow
we will tow
you will tow
they will tow

Future Perfect
I will have towed
you will have towed
he/she/it will have towed
we will have towed
you will have towed
they will have towed

Future Continuous
I will be towing
you will be towing
he/she/it will be towing
we will be towing
you will be towing
they will be towing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been towing
you have been towing
he/she/it has been towing
we have been towing
you have been towing
they have been towing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been towing
you will have been towing
he/she/it will have been towing
we will have been towing
you will have been towing
they will have been towing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been towing
you had been towing
he/she/it had been towing
we had been towing
you had been towing
they had been towing

Conditional
I would tow
you would tow
he/she/it would tow
we would tow
you would tow
they would tow

Past Conditional
I would have towed
you would have towed
he/she/it would have towed
we would have towed
you would have towed
they would have towed

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	tow - the act of hauling something (as a vehicle) by means of a hitch or rope; "the truck gave him a tow to the garage" towage haul, haulage, draw - the act of drawing or hauling something; "the haul up the hill went very slowly"
Verb	1.	tow - drag behind; "Horses used to tow barges along the canal" pull along, schlep, shlep - pull along heavily, like a heavy load against a resistance; "Can you shlep this bag of potatoes upstairs?"; "She pulled along a large trunk" tug - tow (a vessel) with a tug; "The tugboat tugged the freighter into the harbor"

tow

verb

1. drag, draw, pull, trail, haul, tug, yank, hale, trawl, lug He was using the vehicle to tow his trailer.

noun

1. drag, pull, haul, tug I can give you a tow if you want.

in tow accompanying, following, in attendance, by your side, in convoy, in your charge, under your protection There she was on my doorstep with child in tow.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

tow

verb

To exert force so as to move (something) toward the source of the force:

drag, draw, haul, pull, tug.

Translations

قَطْر، جَريَقْطُر، يَجُر

vlécivlek

slæbetræktrække

schleppen abschleppen bugsieren Schlepper Schlepptau

ρυμουλκώ

remolque remolcar estopa remolcador

remorquage remorquer tirer traîner

vontatás

dragatog, dráttur

rimorchiare rimorchio stoppa stoppa di lino trainare

buksyrasvilkimas

buksēšanaņemt tauvāvilkšanavilkt

buksere buksering taue tauing

rebocar

vlek

vleči

çekme çekmek

拉拖牵引

tow

¹ [təʊ]

A. N

1. (Aut) (= act) → remolque m; (= rope) → remolque m, cable m de remolque; (= thing towed) → vehículo m remolcado
to give sb a tow → dar remolque or remolcar a algn
on tow (Brit) in tow (US) → a remolque
to have a car in tow → llevar un coche de remolque
to take in tow → dar remolque a

2. (fig) he arrived with a friend in tow → llegó acompañado de un amigo; (unwillingly) → llegó con un amigo a rastras or a remolque

B. VT

1. [+ car, caravan, boat] → remolcar; [+ barge] (on canal) → sirgar

2. (fig) to tow sth about → llevar algo consigo

C. CPD tow bar N → barra f de remolque
tow car N (US) → grúa f, coche m de remolque
tow line N (Naut) (at sea) → maroma f de remolque; (on canal) → sirga f (Aut) → remolque m, cable m de remolque
tow truck N (esp US) → camión m grúa, grúa f, coche m de remolque

tow away VT + ADV → remolcar, quitar remolcando
to tow a car away → llevar un coche a la comisaría

tow

² [təʊ] N (Textiles) → estopa f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

tow

[ˈtəʊ]

to give sb a tow → remorquer qn
"on tow" (British) "in tow" (US) → "véhicule en remorque"

to have sb in tow → traîner qn dans son sillage
There she was on my doorstep with child in tow
BUT Elle était là sur le pas de ma porte, avec un enfant à ses basques.

vt → remorquer
to be towed away → être mis(e) en fourrière

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

tow

towbar

n → Anhängerkupplung f

towboat

n → Schleppschiff nt, → Schlepper m

towcar

n (esp US) → Abschleppwagen m

tow

towpath

n → Treidelpfad m

towplane

n → Schleppflugzeug nt

towrope

n = towline

tow start

n (Aut) → Anschleppen nt; to give somebody a tow → jdn anschleppen

tow truck

n (US) → Abschleppwagen m

tow

n → Werg nt, → Hede f

tow

n to take a car in tow → ein Auto abschleppen; to take a yacht in tow → eine Jacht schleppen or ins Schlepptau nehmen; to give somebody/a car a tow (in car) → jdn/ein Auto abschleppen; (to start) → jdn/ein Auto anschleppen; do you want a tow? → soll ich Sie abschleppen/anschleppen?; to give a yacht a tow → eine Jacht schleppen or ins Schlepptau nehmen; “on tow” → ˜ „Fahrzeug wird abgeschleppt“; in tow (fig) → im Schlepptau

vt boat, glider → schleppen; car also → abschleppen; (to start) → anschleppen; trailer, caravan → ziehen; he was towing a huge dog behind him → er zog or schleifte einen riesigen Hund hinter sich (dat) → her

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

tow

[təʊ]

1. n → rimorchio
to give sb a tow (Aut) → rimorchiare qn
to be on tow → essere a rimorchio
"on tow", (Am) "in tow" → "veicolo rimorchiato"
he arrived with a friend in tow (fig) (fam) → si è portato dietro un amico

2. vt (boat, car, caravan) → rimorchiare
to tow a car away → portar via una macchina con il carro attrezzi

tow

(təu) verb

to pull (a ship, barge, car, trailer etc) by a rope, chain or cable. The tugboat towed the ship out of the harbour; The car broke down and had to be towed to the garage.

noun

(an) act of towing or process of being towed. Give us a tow!

ˈtowline/ˈtow-rope nouns

a rope etc used in towing.

References in classic literature ?

It is best to let one person tow. When two are doing it, they get chattering, and forget, and the boat itself, offering, as it does, but little resistance, is of no real service in reminding them of the fact.

View in context

A FARMER who had a deadly and implacable hatred against a certain Fox, caught him and tied some tow to his tail; then carrying him to the centre of his own grain-field, set the tow on fire and let the animal go.

View in context

The boats were here hailed, to tow the whale on the larboard side, where fluke chains and other necessaries were already prepared for securing him.

View in context

It escaped his attention, for he was glancing over the stern at something the boat had in tow.

View in context

"Put your neck in this noose, and I will tow you over.

View in context

Few things could have been more to their liking than to give him a tow over the side, for to the forecastle he had sent messes and concoctions of the vilest order.

View in context

Though torn pretty well to pieces, the net in some way still remained foul, and he had had a thirty-mile tow out of his course.

View in context

just as the big ship in tow gets the credit, with most spectators, of being the powerful object, so the Patriarch usually seemed to have said himself whatever Pancks said for him.

View in context

The boats, in general, had to be propelled by oars and setting poles, or drawn by the hand and by grappling hooks from one root or overhanging tree to another; or towed by the long cordelle, or towing line, where the shores were sufficiently clear of woods and thickets to permit the men to pass along the banks.

View in context

So this German attends only the lectures which belong to the chosen branch, and drinks his beer and tows his dog around and has a general good time the rest of the day.

View in context

Will I, nill I, the ineffable thing has tied me to him; tows me with a cable I have no knife to cut.

View in context

Other steamers came out to look for her, and ultimately towed her away from the cold edge of the world into a harbour with docks and workshops, where, with many blows of hammers, her pulsating heart of steel was set going again to go forth presently in the renewed pride of its strength, fed on fire and water, breathing black smoke into the air, pulsating, throbbing, shouldering its arrogant way against the great rollers in blind disdain of winds and sea.

tow

tow

tow 1

tow 2

tow

tow

tow1

tow2

Tow

tow

tow

tow

tow

tow

tow

tow

tow

tow

tow

tow

tow

tow¹

tow²

tow¹

tow²