Tow definition
Can you give my car a tow?
An example of tow is for a truck to pull a disabled vehicle to the repair shop.
An example of a tow is a boat being pulled along by a truck.
An example of tow is a broken flax fiber.
An example of tow used as an adjective is the phrase "tow truck," which means a truck for pulling disabled vehicles.
It isn't the car's battery, I think I need a tow.
A tugboat towing a barge.
- In a condition of being towed:A car with a trailer in tow.
- Under close guidance; in one's charge:The new student was taken in tow by a peer counselor.
- As a companion or follower:Came to dinner with a friend in tow.
- being towed
- in one's company or retinue
- under one's control or charge
Other Word Forms
Noun
Origin of tow
- Middle English possibly from Old English tow- spinning (in towcræft spinning craft, spinning)
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- Middle English towen from Old English togian deuk- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- Origin uncertain; compare Old Norse tó (“uncleansed wool"), Old English tow- (“spinning") (in compounds, e.g. towcræft, towhÅ«s), perhaps cognate with Gothic 𐍄𐌰𐌿𐌾𐌰𐌽 (taujan, “do, make").
From Wiktionary
- Old English toÄ¡ian, from Proto-Germanic *tugōnÄ… (German ziehen, Dutch tijgen), from Proto-Indo-European *dewk-.
From Wiktionary