tow

verb

/təʊ/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they tow	/təʊ/ /təʊ/
he / she / it tows	/təʊz/ /təʊz/
past simple towed	/təʊd/ /təʊd/
past participle towed	/təʊd/ /təʊd/
-ing form towing	/ˈtəʊɪŋ/ /ˈtəʊɪŋ/

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tow something (+ adv./prep.) to pull a car, boat, etc. behind another vehicle, using a rope or chain
- Our car was towed away by the police.
- A glider was being towed into the air.
Synonyms pull
pull
- drag
- draw
- haul
- tow
- tug
These words all mean to move something in a particular direction, especially towards or behind you.
- pull to hold something and move it in a particular direction; to hold or be attached to a vehicle and move it along behind you:
  Pull the chair nearer the table.
  They use oxen to pull their carts.
- drag to pull somebody/something in a particular direction or behind you, usually along the ground, and especially with effort:
  The sack is too heavy to lift—you’ll have to drag it.
- draw (formal) to move somebody/something by pulling them/it gently; to pull a vehicle such as a carriage:
  I drew my chair closer to the fire.
  a horse-drawn carriage
- haul to pull somebody/something to a particular place with a lot of effort:
  Fishermen were hauling in their nets.
drag or haul?You usually drag something behind you along the ground; you usually haul something towards you, often upwards towards you. Dragging something often needs effort, but hauling something always does.
- tow to pull a car, boat or light plane behind another vehicle, using a rope or chain:
  Our car was towed away by the police.
- tug to pull somebody/something hard in a particular direction:
  She tried to escape but he tugged her back.
Patterns
- to pull/drag/draw/haul/tow/tug somebody/something along/down/towards something
- to pull/drag/draw/haul/tow somebody/something behind you
- to pull/drag/draw/haul a cart/sledge
- to pull/draw a coach/carriage
- to pull/haul/tow a truck
- horses pull/draw/haul something
- dogs pull/drag/haul something
Topics Transport by waterc2
tow somebody (+ adv./prep.) (of a person) to pull somebody along behind you
- Vicky was towing Rosa along by the hand.

Word OriginOld English togian ‘draw, drag’, of Germanic origin; related to tug. The noun dates from the early 17th cent.

Homophones toe | towtoe tow

/təʊ/

toe noun
- He stepped on my toe while we were dancing!
tow verb
- Luckily, a truck came to tow our car to safety.

tow

noun

/təʊ/

[singular]Idioms

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an act of one vehicle pulling another vehicle using a rope or chain
- The car broke down and we had to get somebody to give us a tow.
- a tow truck
- under tow The ship, whose engine had failed, is now safely under tow.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verb + tow
- give somebody
tow + noun
- bar
- line
- rope
- …
preposition
- in tow
- under tow
See full entry
Word OriginOld English togian ‘draw, drag’, of Germanic origin; related to tug. The noun dates from the early 17th cent.

Idioms

in tow

(informal) if you have somebody in tow, they are with you and following closely behind
- She turned up with her mother in tow.
- a harassed mother with three small children in tow
if a ship is taken in tow, it is pulled by another ship