Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary полностью

tow /toʊ / (tows , towing , towed )

1 VERB If one vehicle tows another, it pulls it along behind it. □ [V n] He had been using the vehicle to tow his work trailer. □ [V n with adv] They threatened to tow away my car. □ [V n prep] A lifeboat towed the 28ft boat to a nearby quay.

2 PHRASE If you have someone in tow , they are following you closely because you are looking after them or you are leading them somewhere. [INFORMAL ] □  There she was on my doorstep with child in tow.

to|wards ◆◆◆ /təwɔː ^r dz, [AM ] tɔː rdz/ or toward In addition to the uses shown below, towards is used in phrasal verbs such as 'count towards' and 'lean towards'. 1 PREP If you move, look, or point towards something or someone, you move, look, or point in their direction. □  Caroline leant across the table towards him. □  Anne left Artie and walked down the corridor towards the foyer. □  When he looked towards me, I smiled and waved.

2 PREP If things develop towards a particular situation, that situation becomes nearer in time or more likely to happen. □  The talks made little evident progress towards agreement.

3 PREP If you have a particular attitude towards something or someone, you have that attitude when you think about them or deal with them. □  It's the business of the individual to determine his own attitude towards religion. □  Not everyone in the world will be kind and caring towards you.

4 PREP If something happens towards a particular time, it happens just before that time. □  The factory was due to open towards the end of the year.

5 PREP If something is towards part of a place or thing, it is near that part. □  The home of the Morgan family was up Gloucester Road, towards the top of the hill.

6 PREP If you give money towards something, you give it to help pay for that thing. □  He gave them £50,000 towards a house.

tow|el /taʊ əl/ (towels , towelling , towelled ) in AM, use toweling , toweled 1 N‑COUNT A towel is a piece of thick soft cloth that you use to dry yourself. □  …a bath towel.

2 VERB If you towel something or towel it dry, you dry it with a towel. □ [V n] James came out of his bedroom, toweling his wet hair. □ [V n adj] I towelled myself dry. □ [V n + down/off ] He stepped out of the shower and began towelling himself down.

3 PHRASE If you throw in the towel , you stop trying to do something because you realize that you cannot succeed. [INFORMAL ] □  It seemed as if the police had thrown in the towel and were abandoning the investigation.

4 → see also sanitary towel , tea towel

tow|el|ling /taʊ əl I ŋ/ in AM, use toweling N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Towelling is a kind of fairly thick soft cloth that is used especially for making towels. □  …a towelling bathrobe.

tow|er ◆◇◇ /taʊ ə ^r / (towers , towering , towered )

1 N‑COUNT A tower is a tall, narrow building, that either stands alone or forms part of another building such as a church or castle. □  …an eleventh century castle with 120-foot high towers. □  …the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

2 VERB Someone or something that towers over surrounding people or things is a lot taller than they are. □ [V + over/above ] He stood up and towered over her.

3 N‑COUNT A tower is a tall structure that is used for sending radio or television signals. □  Troops are still in control of the television and radio tower.

4 N‑COUNT A tower is the same as a tower block . □  …his design for a new office tower in Frankfurt.

5 N‑COUNT A tower is a tall box that contains the main parts of a computer, such as the hard disk and the drives. [COMPUTING ]