What does tow mean?

Definitions for tow
toʊtow

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word tow.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. tow, towageverb

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

    "the truck gave him a tow to the garage"

  2. towverb

    drag behind

    "Horses used to tow barges along the canal"

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Townoun

    Flax or hemp beaten and combed into a filamentous substance.

    Etymology: tow , Saxon.

    Tow twisted round the handle of an instrument makes it easier to be held. Samuel Sharp.

  2. To Towverb

    To draw by a rope, particularly through the water.

    Etymology: teon, teohan , Saxon, to lead; toghen, old Dutch.

    Thou knew’st too well
    My heart was to thy rudder ty’d by th’ string,
    And thou should’st tow me after. William Shakespeare, Ant. and Cleopatra.

    The seamen towed, and I shoved, till we arrived. Jonathan Swift.

ChatGPT

  1. tow

    Tow refers to the act of pulling or dragging something, typically a vehicle, boat, or other heavy object, using a rope, chain or tow bar, often by another vehicle or vessel. This action is performed when the object in question is not able to move or function under its own power. Tow can also refer to the act of being pulled or the condition of being towed.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Townoun

    the coarse and broken part of flax or hemp, separated from the finer part by the hatchel or swingle

  2. Towverb

    to draw or pull through the water, as a vessel of any kind, by means of a rope

  3. Towverb

    a rope by which anything is towed; a towline, or towrope

  4. Towverb

    the act of towing, or the state of being towed; --chiefly used in the phrase, to take in tow, that is to tow

  5. Towverb

    that which is towed, or drawn by a towline, as a barge, raft, collection of boats, ect

Wikidata

  1. Tow

    In the composites industry, a tow is an untwisted bundle of continuous filaments, and it refers to man-made fibres, particularly carbon fibres. Tows are designated by the number of fibers they contain. For example, a 12K tow contains about 12,000 fibres. In the textile industry, a tow is a coarse, broken fibre such as flax, hemp, or jute. Flax tows are often used as upholstery stuffing, and tows in general are frequently cut up to produce staple fibre.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Tow

    tō, v.t. to pull a vessel through the water with a rope.—n. originally a rope for towing with: the coarse part of flax or hemp: the act of towing.—ns. Tow′age, act of towing: money for towing; Tow′-boat, a boat that is towed, or one used for towing other vessels.—n.pl. Tow′ing-bitts, upright timbers projecting above the deck for fastening tow-lines to.—ns. Tow′ing-net, a drag-net for collecting objects of natural history, &c.; Tow′ing-path, Tow′-path, a path, generally by the side of a canal or river, for horses towing barges; Tow′-ī′ron, a toggle-iron used in whaling; Tow′line, a line used in towing.—adj. Tow′y, like tow. [A.S. teóhan, teón. Cf. Tug.]

Editors Contribution

  1. towadjective

    house maid

    for houces


    Submitted by rady90 on August 22, 2022  

Suggested Resources

  1. TOW

    What does TOW stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the TOW acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. TOW

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Tow is ranked #15355 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Tow surname appeared 1,910 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Tow.

    78.6% or 1,503 total occurrences were White.
    13.7% or 262 total occurrences were Asian.
    3.6% or 70 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    2.1% or 41 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    1% or 20 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
    0.7% or 14 total occurrences were Black.

Matched Categories

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce tow?

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of tow in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of tow in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of tow in a Sentence

  1. Bart Graves:

    The tanker was heavily damaged in the rear so we had( to) pump out the liquid into the median so the tanker could be lifted onto a tow truck.

  2. Asem Zidan:

    And the TOW missiles helped us to prevent the regime pushing forward for some time... but it was n’t enough.

  3. June Cvelbar:

    I don’t remember anything like this — especially everybody walking away. I mean that’s the amazing part of this. i saw two planes in the sky. I saw a larger green plane, which I thought was a tow plane, along with what I thought was a glider being towed by it. I heard a noise but didn’t realize that the two planes had collided.

  4. Kelly Hannon:

    We know people have been stopped for extraordinary time periods leading up to these closure areas, but we are clearing trucks one by one to break through this blockage, and we will get to each driver and restore traffic flow, crews continue to work intensely to tow vehicles that are stuck and blocking the interstate near mile markers 136 in Stafford County, and then plow and treat the interstate to prevent follow-on crashes.

  5. Jerry Pacheco:

    Here we are growing companies and growing jobs and everything is great. We added another industrial park with job prospects in tow and then all this happens.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

tow#10000#14185#100000

Translations for tow

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • remolcarCatalan, Valencian
  • vlečné lano, táhnout, vléciCzech
  • Schleppen, Schlepptau, Abschleppen, SchlepperGerman
  • ρυμουλκώGreek
  • remolque, remolcador, remolcarSpanish
  • hinataFinnish
  • remorquage, remorquer, étoupe, tracterFrench
  • slaodScottish Gaelic
  • abordelar, solear, remolcarGalician
  • capecchioItalian
  • vilcējs, virve, pakulas, vilkšanaLatvian
  • ngai, tō, taki, pūngahungahu, pāreteMāori
  • trekkabel, sleeptouwDutch
  • pakuły, holowanie, hol, holowaćPolish
  • rebocar, rebocador, reboquePortuguese
  • stupăRomanian
  • буксиро́вка, тяну́ть, букси́р, букси́ровать, тяга́ч, буксиро́вочный трос, па́кля, тащи́тьRussian
  • vliecť, ťahať, kúdeľ, priadzaSlovak
  • yedekte çekmekTurkish

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"tow." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 Nov. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/tow>.

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