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

T0246800 (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: Can you give my car a tow?2. 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 tow1. 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

T0246800 (tō)n.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).]

tow

(təʊ) vb (tr) to pull or drag (a vehicle, boat, etc), esp by means of a rope or cablen1. the act or an instance of towing2. the state of being towed (esp in the phrases in tow, under tow, on tow)3. something towed4. something used for towing5. in tow in one's charge or under one's influence6. (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) n1. (Textiles) the fibres of hemp, flax, jute, etc, in the scutched state2. (Textiles) synthetic fibres preparatory to spinning3. (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

tow¹

(toʊ)

v.t. 1. to pull or haul (a car, barge, trailer, etc.) by a rope, chain, or other device. n. 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. 2. 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

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"towagehaul, 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

verb1. drag, draw, pull, trail, haul, tug, yank, hale, trawl, lug He was using the vehicle to tow his trailer.noun1. 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.

tow

verbTo exert force so as to move (something) toward the source of the force:drag, draw, haul, pull, tug.

Translations

拉拖牵引

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. 牵引，拖，拉 noun (an) act of towing or process of being towed. Give us a tow! 牵引，拉 ˈtowline/ˈtow-rope nouns a rope etc used in towing. 拖缆

Could you send a tow truck? (US)
Can you send a breakdown van? (UK) → 您能不能派一辆维修车来？
Could you tow me to a repair shop? (US)
Can you tow me to a garage? (UK) → 您能帮忙把我的车拖到修车行去吗？

tow

take (something) in tow

To pull or drag something. Originally a nautical phrase used to describe the action of a ship towing something. They'll take the plane in tow and bring it back to the hangar.See also: take, tow

take (one) in tow

To help or guide another person by acting as a mentor. My high school English teacher was a great mentor—she took me in tow and taught me invaluable skills, like how to read and write critically.See also: take, tow

undertow

1. A strong undercurrent, as in the ocean. There's a really powerful undertow today, so I think the kids should stay out of the water.2. A contrasting tone or aspect in art or literature. That movie is advertised as a comedy, but the humor has a strong undertow of sadness and despair.

in tow

Accompanying alongside or under one's supervision. I was so embarrassed when I arrived with the kids in tow only to realize that the invitation said adults only. The senator arrived to the press conference with her aides in tow.See also: tow

have (someone or something) in tow

1. To be accompanied by someone or something. I can't believe Joyce had all eight kids in tow when she came into the office today.2. To pull or drag something. They have the plane in tow and will bring it back to the hangar.See also: have, tow

have someone or something in tow

Fig. to lead, pull, or tow someone or something around. Mrs. Smith has her son by the hand and in tow. That car has a boat in tow.See also: have, tow

in tow

closely following; under someone's control. The nanny walked into the park with three children in tow. The manager went to the meeting with her staff in tow.See also: tow

tow someone or something away*

to pull something, such as a car or a boat, away with another car, boat, etc. (The someone refers to the property of someone, not the person.) If I don't get back to my car, they will tow me away. The truck towed away my car. A big truck came and towed the illegally parked car away.See also: away, tow

tow someone or something into something

and tow someone or something into pull something, such as a car or a truck, into something, such as a garage. (The someone refers to the property of someone, not the person.) They had to tow my car into the garage to be repaired. They towed in my car.See also: tow

tow someone or something out

(of some place) to pull something, such as a car, out of something, such as a ditch. (The someone refers to the property of someone, not the person.) The farmer used his tractor to tow Andrew out of the ditch. He towed the car out of the ditch.See also: out, tow

tow someone or something out (to something)

to pull something, such as a boat, or someone in or on something out in the water, to something. (The someone refers to the property of someone, not the person.) Frank, who was on his surfboard, asked Tony to tow him out to the little island. We towed the raft out where the water is deep.See also: out, tow

in tow

In one's charge or close guidance; along with one. For example, The older girl took the new student in tow, or Peter always had his family in tow. This expression alludes to the literal meaning of being pulled along. [Early 1700s] See also: tow

in ˈtow

(informal) following closely behind; with you: Mrs Bridge arrived with her four children in tow.See also: tow

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.See also: tow

tow

tow

tow 1

tow 2

tow

tow

tow1

tow2

Tow

tow

tow

tow

tow

tow

take (something) in tow

take (one) in tow

undertow

in tow

have (someone or something) in tow

have someone or something in tow

in tow

tow someone or something away*

tow someone or something into something

tow someone or something out

tow someone or something out (to something)

in tow

in ˈtow

in tow

tow

tow

tow

Tow

tow

TOW

tow

Synonyms for tow

verb drag

Synonyms

noun drag

Synonyms

phrase in tow

Synonyms

Synonyms for tow

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

Synonyms

Synonyms for tow

noun the act of hauling something (as a vehicle) by means of a hitch or rope

Synonyms

Related Words

verb drag behind

Related Words

tow¹

tow²

tow¹

tow²