Bob Munger
Examples of tow in a Sentence
Scotty Reiss, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
Remove vehicles by noon on Nov. 12, or they could be towed and students could face disciplinary action, the letter said.
—Debbie Truong, Los Angeles Times, 26 Nov. 2023
At least 15 vehicles were towed after protesters parked on the bridge and threw their keys into the sea shortly before 8 a.m., disrupting the morning commute, said California Highway Patrol division chief Ezery Beauchamp at a news conference on Bay Bridge.
—NBC News, 16 Nov. 2023
There’s a segment of truck shoppers who want the performance of an electric vehicle but don’t want to sacrifice range or towing, said Guidehouse Insights analyst Sam Abuelsamid.
—Tom Krisher, Fortune, 7 Nov. 2023
The company's execs, however, had a hunch that enthusiasts would pay up for a limited-edition Huracan that could be driven 12 months a year -- including in snow and sleet -- without getting stuck, scrapped or towed.
—Morgan Korn, ABC News, 29 Oct. 2023
The laws, which lowriders describe as discriminatory, have long prevented them from parading their cars without the fear of being cited or towed.
—Livia Albeck-Ripka, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2023
The company is sending its first prototype to the Toronto Pearson Airport
Some of the tasks handled by the AWV include: driving around the perimeter fence of an airport looking for security breaches; hauling and transporting cargo around the tarmac; and towing baggage carts.
—Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 17 Oct. 2023
Bruneau says the machine is beefy enough to tow someone on a tube or even a water ski.
—WIRED, 18 Nov. 2023
Winnie Hu Emma Rose Milligan, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2023
With her background, her team, and her contacts in tow, Leslie James hit the ground running in 2020 after being selected as lead costume designer.
—Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 18 Nov. 2023
Few would have guessed his return would be an instrumental LP dominated by flutes and digital wind instruments, though photos of his travels—flute in tow—may have offered a clue.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 17 Nov. 2023
At the end of the clip, Drake — with his wine glass in tow — sits down in the orchestra seats to watch an orchestra perform as a white-gloved attendee showcases an invitation featuring the EP title and its executive producers which appear to include Kevin Durant and Noel Cadastre.
—Ilana Kaplan, Peoplemag, 16 Nov. 2023
As Sheppard recalled in her diary, the troupe left the hotel with the mob still in tow and walked to the railroad stop, where the choir began to sing a hymn.
—Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 13 Nov. 2023
Stretch helper Your new mom in question may be noticing more stiffness, soreness and aches—not only from birth recovery, but from the adjustment in movement with a newborn in tow.
—Grace Smith, wsj.com, 9 Nov. 2023
Her regular crowd of neighbors, some with children in tow, shuffled down the basement stairs and into the bunker.
—Oleksandr Naselenko Emile Ducke, New York Times, 6 Nov. 2023
Police said Main’s investigation found that Anderson got a shotgun from the house and loaded it before Anderson — with gun in tow — and Smith left the house in the same vehicle.
—Ben Brasch, Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tow.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Verb
Middle English towen "to pull, tug, haul," going back to Old English togian, going back to Germanic *togōjan- (whence also Old Frisian togia "to haul away," Old High German zogōn "to obtain," Old Icelandic toga "to draw, pull"), weak-verb derivative from zero-grade of *teuhan- "to draw, pull," a strong verb (whence Old English tēon, past tēah, tugon, past participle togen "to pull, draw, entice, bring up, educate," Old Frisian tiā "to draw, pull, educate," Old Saxon tiohan "to pull, haul, rear," Old High German ziohan "to pull, lead, rear, foster," Old Icelandic toginn "drawn [of a sword]," Gothic tiuhan "to lead, bring"), going back to an Indo-European verbal base *deu̯k-, whence also Welsh dygaf "(I) bring, lead" (verbal noun dwyn), Latin dūcō, dūcere "to lead, conduct, draw, pull (of draught animals)"
Note: The base *deu̯k- is best attested as a primary verb stem with the meanings "lead, bring" and "pull (a conveyance)" in the western Indo-European group Celtic, Germanic, and Italic. Other semantically and/or morphologically more distant connections (in Albanian, Greek, and Tocharian) are pointed out in H. Rix, et al., Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2. Auflage, Wiesbaden, 2001.
Noun (1)
derivative of tow entry 1
Noun (2)
Middle English tow, towe "unworked flax, fiber of flax or another material prepared for spinning," of uncertain origin
Note: The Middle English word has been associated with Old English tow-, which appears as the initial element of a series of compounds: towcræft "spinning," towhūs "building or room for spinning," towlic "used for spinning," towtōl "spinning implement." Whatever the likelihood of this element as its source, Middle English tow(e) is matched exactly in form by Middle Dutch touwe, tou "coarse flax, rope," and Middle Low German tow, towe "rope." While the Oxford English Dictionary, first edition, is noncommital on its origin, the editors of the Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology state unreservedly that tow(e) is borrowed from Middle Low German touw [sic]. Cognate with the Middle Low German and Middle Dutch words are Old Frisian tauwe, towe "rope," Old Saxon tou "flax fiber," and Old Icelandic tó "tuft of wool." These appear to go back to Germanic tauwa-, which would yield unattested Old English *tēaw-, not tow-. G. Kroonen (Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Brill, 2013) links the Germanic etymon with Indo-European *deh1- "tie, bind" (see diadem), but this would appear unlikely if "flax fiber" was the original meaning and "rope" secondary. Older hypotheses connect it with Germanic *taujan- "to do, make" (see taw entry 1).
Noun (3)
early Scots tow, towe, probably borrowed from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German tow, towe "rope" — more at tow entry 3
Verb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Noun (1)
1600, in the meaning defined at sense 4
Noun (2)
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun (3)
14th century, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing tow
Dictionary Entries Near tow
Cite this Entry
“Tow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tow. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
tow
1 of 3 verbtow
2 of 3 nountow
3 of 3 nounVerb
Old English togian "to tow"
Noun
Old English tow- "spinning"
More from Merriam-Webster on tow
Nglish: Translation of tow for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of tow for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about tow
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