tow

Word family

tow1 /təʊ $ toʊ/ verb [transitiveT] → toe

TTPULLto pull a vehicle or ship along behind another vehicle, using a rope or chain 牵引，拖，拉〔车或船〕

The ship had to be towed into the harbor.

那艘轮船不得不被拖进港口。

tow something away

Our car had been towed away.

我们的车被拖走了。

Examples from the Corpus

tow• A final decision will be made once the stricken destroyer is towed away.• Power surfers are towed behind a jet-ski into massive oceanic swells that move too fast to catch by paddling conventional surfboards.• I towed her over to the muddy shore and flung her aboard Flupper.• The lifeguard boat offered to tow his board out through the pounding break.• The police had towed his car away because it was blocking the road.• Their yacht was also towed in.• He often towed it to Lake Whitney, near Waco.• Their target was a specific spot where, earlier, a towed temperature probe had measured a spike of warm water.• The damaged ship was towed to the nearest port.• What's the speed limit for cars towing trailers?

tow something away• When I came back the car had been towed away.

tow2 noun

1 [countableC]TTPULL an act of pulling a vehicle behind another vehicle, using a rope or chain 〔对车船等的〕牵引，拖，拉

Can you give us a tow to the garage?

你能帮我们把车拖到修车厂吗？

2 in tow informalFOLLOW following closely behind someone or something 紧跟在后

Hannah arrived with her four kids in tow.

汉娜到了，后面跟着她的四个孩子。

He turned up at my office with two lawyers in tow.

他出现在我的办公室，身后跟着两名律师。

Examples from the Corpus

in tow• Hannah arrived with her four kids in tow.

3. take something in tow TTto connect a rope or a chain to a vehicle or ship so that it can be towed 〔用绳索或链条〕拖着〔车或船〕

4. under/on tow British EnglishBrETT if a ship is under tow or a car is on tow, it is being pulled along by another vehicle 〔船或车〕被拖着走

Examples from the Corpus

under/on tow• Maintenance costs on tow motors were slashed.

Examples from the Corpus

tow• I seized the chance to ask for a tow, anything to get us clear of that suicidal place.• Many enjoy the festival so much that they return season after season, with spouses and children in tow.• Sometimes they came alone, sometimes with a man in tow - to foot the bill!• In April 1986 our 29-year-old son met a lorry coming from the opposite direction with a very heavy utility trailer in tow.

Origin tow1

Old English togian

Chinese

Corpus