tows 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of tow
as in pulls
to cause to follow by applying steady force on towed the car into the shop for repair

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

tows

2 of 2

noun

plural of tow
as in tugs

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tows
Verb
The Wingcube is a tall, narrow box that tows easily on top of a separate trailer. — New Atlas, 15 Feb. 2026 The Santa Cruz tows 3,500 pounds with the base engine or 5,000 pounds with all-wheel drive. — James Raia, Mercury News, 23 Nov. 2025
Noun
Fewer tows have happened at Berkeley Heights since the law passed, according to Waterbury tow logs. — Ginny Monk, Hartford Courant, 28 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tows
  1. pulls
  2. tugs
  3. hauls
  4. draws
  5. drags
  6. jerks
Verb
  • Studios build best picture runs around a face and a narrative, and Focus is betting that a breakout turn is the engine that pulls the rest of the slate into the race.
    — Clayton Davis, Variety, 2 Sep. 2026
  • One of these women is a Stanford chemist whose fertilizer pulls carbon out of the sky.
    — Lisa Curtis, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of pulls
Noun
  • The European Investment Bank (EIB) estimates that roughly 200 wrecks, including warships, barges, tugs, and cargo vessels, remain scattered across a five-kilometer stretch of the river near Prahovo.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Momentus’ spacecraft can also serve as space tugs to ferry smaller satellites or experiments from one orbit to another.
    — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 9 July 2026
Definition of tugs
Verb
  • And just a few miles away, the popular Mount Washington Cog Railway hauls visitors to the summit of the property’s namesake, and the highest peak in the Northeast at nearly 6,300 feet.
    — Erik Matuszewski, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
  • The gang hauls the contraption to the front curb and pours their non-alcoholic beers into it.
    — Paula Mejía, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of hauls
Noun
  • But the design quickly sparked backlash and support online, with some applauding the farm's call for civil discourse and others questioning why Kirk was chosen as the face of one of the attraction's biggest annual draws.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Balloon flights are one of the region’s biggest draws, and so the most reputable operators can fill up weeks ahead, particularly from spring to autumn.
    — Scott Campbell, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of draws
Verb
  • As the conflict drags on, damage to the Middle East will extend far beyond infrastructure.
    — Dina Esfandiary, Foreign Affairs, 27 Aug. 2026
  • And while American and Israeli strikes have battered Iran for months, the conflict has also taken a toll on Pentagon resources and American lives as the war drags on.
    — Steven Beynon, ABC News, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of drags
Noun
  • The Ars OpenForum is a place for readers to ask questions, compare notes, argue (without being jerks to each other), and go down all sorts of rabbit holes.
    — Eric Bangeman, ArsTechnica, 31 Aug. 2026
  • That screwed up the works / And not due to his sloppy hiring / Of a crew of incompetent jerks.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of jerks

Browse Nearby Words

towplanes
tows
toxic
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tows.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tows. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of apiary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All