TOW Synonyms: 27 Similar and Opposite Words

tow 1 of 2

verb

ˈtō

Definition of tow

as in to pull

to cause to follow by applying steady force on towed the car into the shop for repair

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

tow

2 of 2

noun

as in tug

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of tow

Verb

Officers stopped two of the riders, and their e-motorcycles were towed as evidence. — Madison Smalstig, Sacbee.com, 23 Sep. 2026 The car was towed away in the early evening and traffic began moving again. — Arkansas Online, 21 Sep. 2026

Noun

All the teams needed tow tactics — where one car leads another to reduce drag and increase speed with a slipstream given to the chasing car — to get the quickest lap times because of Monza’s long straights. — Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026 According to Green, shortly after speaking with Butts in June 1999, investigators located Gabriel’s van at a tow yard. — Yana Johnson, NBC news, 6 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for tow

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tow

Verb

Achane’s replacement scored at the end of the third quarter pulled Miami within a score, making it 12-10 headed into the fourth quarter.

— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2026
Like a matador swirling his cape, Patrick Roden-Reynolds pulled a swatch of white flannel this way and that on the grass and leaf litter in my yard.

— Bob Drogin, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of pull

Noun

Electric tugs docked alongside an LNG carrier being loaded at the LNG Canada docks in Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada, on Monday, July 14, 2025.

— Sam Meredith, CNBC, 29 Sep. 2026
There's Teddy, of course, who may be warming up to visitors one kiss — and possibly one hair tug — at a time.

— Wakisha Bailey, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of tug

Verb

Four of the 14 were arrested in an attempt to haul bundles of cash out of the home of the attorney general and into the back of an ambulance, Interior Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo said.

— Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 1 Oct. 2026
Every chip and solar panel has to be hauled into orbit, and every answer those chips produce has to come back down.

— Peter Hall, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of haul

Noun

Americans are anxious about the economy, their own finances and the world in general — but none of that has been too much of a drag on consumer spending this year.

— David Moin, Footwear News, 29 Sep. 2026
The result of this thin layer of turbulence is skin-friction drag.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of drag

Noun

Disney’s ubiquity Canceling Disney+ was simple but threw a hefty wrench into my evening routine.

— Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 30 Sep. 2026
Major hurricanes are a wrench in the system when they become absorbed in the jet stream, as Polo will be early next week, so how exactly this plays out will be closely watched.

— Sean Macaday, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of wrench

Noun

Bella’s childhood friend Angus (Jake Simmance), a corporate jerk, condescendingly probes Johnny about his career.

— Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
There was significant excitement over the first-look footage revealing perhaps the world’s biggest movie star transforming himself to become a portly, gray-haired jerk in an offbeat feature focusing on climate change.

— Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of jerk

Browse Nearby Words

touts

tow

toward

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Tow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tow. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of tow

verb

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on tow

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

regimen

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes