I. tow 1 /təʊ $ toʊ/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: togian ]
to pull a vehicle or ship along behind another vehicle, using a rope or chain:
The ship had to be towed into the harbor.
tow something away
Our car had been towed away
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THESAURUS
▪ pull to make something or someone move in the direction that your hands are moving:
He pulled her towards him and kissed her.
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Sam was pulling on his socks.
▪ tug to pull something suddenly with a short quick movement, often to get someone’s attention:
‘Look,’ he said, tugging at his brother’s sleeve.
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I tugged at the drawer but it wouldn’t open.
▪ drag to pull something along the ground, especially because it is heavy:
If we can’t lift the piano, we’ll have to drag it.
▪ haul to pull something big and heavy using a lot of effort, especially upwards and using a rope:
They hauled their boats further up the beach.
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fishermen hauling in their nets
▪ heave to pull or lift something very heavy, especially with one movement:
He heaved the sack of sand onto his shoulder.
▪ draw formal to pull something or someone gently in a particular direction:
Lisa reached for his hand but he drew it away.
▪ pull to be attached to a vehicle or piece of machinery and make it move behind you in the direction you are going:
Ten dogs were pulling a sledge over the ice.
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a tractor pulling a plough
▪ tow to pull a vehicle behind – used about a vehicle, a boat, or a horse pulling something using a rope or chain:
The car in front of us was towing a caravan.
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Horses were used to tow the boats along the canals.
▪ draw to pull a vehicle such as a carriage – used especially about horses doing this:
a carriage drawn by four horses
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a horse-drawn cart
II. tow 2 BrE AmE noun
1 . [countable] an act of pulling a vehicle behind another vehicle, using a rope or chain:
Can you give us a tow to the garage?
2 . in tow informal following closely behind someone or something:
Hannah arrived with her four kids in tow.
He turned up at my office with two lawyers in tow.
3 . take something in tow to connect a rope or a chain to a vehicle or ship so that it can be towed
4 . under/on tow British English if a ship is under tow or a car is on tow, it is being pulled along by another vehicle