Tow Meaning
/təʊ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo pull something behind one, such as by using a line, chain, or tongue.
verbTo aid someone behind by shielding them from wind resistance.
Sentence Examples
He drives a tow truck.
The policeman didn't tow your car away.
Tom has already called for a tow truck.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The broken car needed a truck to ____ it to the nearby repair shop.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The broken car had to be taken to the garage by a ____ truck early this morning after it broke down today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English towen, from Old English togian, from Proto-West Germanic *togōn, from Proto-Germanic *tugōną, from Proto-Indo-European *dewk-. See also Middle High German zogen, German ziehen, Dutch tijgen, Old Norse toga.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"In its current specification it cannot be driven and must be towed to its work location by a locomotive."
— 2022 September 7, “At the cutting edge of NR's track work”, in RAIL, number 965, page 40, photo caption:
"On Saturday, Vettel was very unhappy with Leclerc's failure to work out a way through the traffic and give him a tow for the second runs in qualifying, as had been agreed."
— 2019 September 8, Andrew Benson, BBC Sport:
"And the strong shall be as towe, and the maker of it as a sparke, and they shall both burne together, and none shall quench them."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 1:31:
"Meanwhile the farmer's wife was at home all alone, and while she was sitting and spinning her tow, she never noticed a Troll who had crept through the window into the next room, and was at the beer barrel drawing off the liquor into his copper kettle."
— 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 187:
"The American-made TOW antitank missiles began arriving in the region in 2013, through a covert program run by the United States, Saudi Arabia and other allies to help certain C.I.A.-vetted insurgent groups battle the Syrian government."
— 2015 October 12, Anne Barnard, Karam Shoumali, “U.S. Weaponry Is Turning Syria Into Proxy War With Russia”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The broken car needed a truck to ____ it to the nearby repair shop.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The broken car had to be taken to the garage by a ____ truck early this morning after it broke down today.