name · noun · verb · 26 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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touʹər
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈtaʊ.ə(ɹ)/
[ˈtɑːə]triphthong smoothing
[ˈtɑː]triphthong smoothing
Northumbria:/ˈtuː.ɐ/
General-American:/ˈtaʊɚ/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -aʊ.ə(ɹ)
homophone: (tar-tire-tower merger) tar
homophone: (tar-tire-tower merger) tire
tōʹər
UK:/ˈtəʊ.ə(ɹ)/
General-American:/ˈtoʊ.əɹ/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
16
noun
Meaning 16
A tall fashionable headdress worn in the time of King William III and Queen Anne.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
17
noun
Meaning 17
High flight; elevation.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
18
noun
Meaning 18
One who tows.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
19
noun
Meaning 19
Denoting the system of weights used by the Saxon and Norman English kings in their minting of coins.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: attributive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
20
verb
Meaning 20
To be very tall; to reach a high height.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
Examples
The office block towered into the sky.
The tree will eventually tower taller than any of the others.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
21
verb
Meaning 21
To be high or lofty; to soar.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
22
verb
Meaning 22
To soar into.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
23
noun
Meaning 23
a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: structure, construction
Narrower terms: barbican, barbacan, beacon, lighthouse, beacon light, pharos, bell tower, church tower, clock tower, control tower, high-rise, tower block, minaret, mooring tower, mooring mast, pylon, power pylon, shot tower, silo, steeple, spire, supporting tower, turret, watchtower, CN Tower, Eiffel Tower, Space Needle
24
noun
Meaning 24
a powerful small boat designed to pull or push larger ships
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: tugboat, tug, towboat
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: boat
25
noun
Meaning 25
anything that approximates the shape of a column or tower
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
the test tube held a column of white powder
a tower of dust rose above the horizon
a thin pillar of smoke betrayed their campsite
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: column, pillar
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: shape, form
Narrower terms: columella, hoodoo
26
verb
Meaning 26
appear very large or occupy a commanding position
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
The huge sculpture predominates over the fountain
Large shadows loomed on the canyon wall
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: loom, predominate, hulk
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: rise, lift, rear
History
Etymology
From Middle English tour, tur, tor, from Old English tūr, tor, torr ("tower; rock"; > English tor) and Old French tour, toer, tor; both from Latin turris (“a tower”), Ancient Greek τύρρις (túrrhis) (Hesychius), τύρσις (túrsis). Displaced native Middle English stepel for the general sense of "tower". Compare Scots tour, towr, towre (“tower”), West Frisian toer (“tower”), Dutch toren (“tower”), German Turm (“tower”), Danish tårn (“tower”), Swedish torn (“tower”), Icelandic turn (“tower”), Welsh tŵr. Doublet of tor, tourelle, and turret.
Etymology tree English tow Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English tower From tow + -er.
From Middle English touren, torren, torrien, from Old English *torrian, from the noun (see above).
Across languages
Translations
253 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Chinese Mandarin:
倫敦塔 /伦敦塔
(Lūndūntǎ)
— Tower of London
Swedish:
Towern
— Tower of London
Afrikaans:
toring
— tall, narrow structure
Albanian:
kullë
— tall, narrow structure
Amharic:
ግንብ
(gənb)
— tall, narrow structure
Arabic:
بُرْج
(burj)
— tall, narrow structure
Arabic:
برج
(burg)
— tall, narrow structure
Arabic:
بُرْج
(burj)
— tall, narrow structure
Iraqi Arabic:
برج
(burij)
— tall, narrow structure