tow n : the act of hauling something (as a vehicle) by means of a hitch or rope; "the truck gave him a tow to the garage" [syn: towage] v : drag behind; "Horses used to tow barges along the canal"

English

Pronunciation

• tō, /təʊ/, /t@U/
• Homophones: toe
• Rhymes: -əʊ

Etymology

toġian

Verb

1. To pull something behind one using a line or chain; to haul.

Noun

1. The act of towing and the condition of being towed.
2. Something, such as a tugboat, that tows.
3. Something, such as a barge, that is towed.
4. A rope or cable used in towing.
5. An untwisted bundle of fibers such as cellulose acetate, flax, hemp or jute.

Anagrams

• two

Related terms

• in tow / on tow
• tow rope
• tow truck
• tow haired
• towhead

In the composites industry, a tow is an untwisted bundle of continuous filaments, and it refers to human-made fibers, particularly carbon fibers (also called graphite).

Tows are designated by the number of fibers they contain, e.g. a 12K tow contains about 12,000 fibers.

In the textile industry, a tow (rhymes with how, unless referring to cellulose acetate which sounds like toe) is a coarse, broken fiber such as flax, hemp, or jute. Flax tows are often used as upholstery stuffing, and tows in general are frequently cut up to produce staple fibers.

Notes