I. tow ‧ er 1 S3 W3 /ˈtaʊə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: tor , tur , from Latin turris , from Greek tyrsis ]
1 . a tall narrow building either built on its own or forming part of a castle, church etc:
the Eiffel Tower
a castle with tall towers
bell/clock tower
The bell tower was added to the church in 1848.
tower of
the leaning tower of Pisa
2 . a tall structure, often made of metal, used for signalling, broadcasting etc:
an air traffic control tower
3 . tower of strength someone who gives you a lot of help, sympathy, and support when you are in trouble:
Her father was a tower of strength to her when her marriage broke up.
4 . a tall piece of furniture that you use to store things:
a CD tower
⇨ ↑ cooling tower , ↑ ivory tower , ↑ water tower
II. tower 2 BrE AmE verb [intransitive]
1 . to be much taller than the people or things around you
tower above/over
He towered over his mother.
2 . to be much better than any other person or organization that does the same thing as you
tower above/over
Mozart towers over all other composers.