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tower

to·wer

UK/ˈtəʊ.ə(ɹ)/ US/ˈtoʊ.əɹ/ common uk
noun (3) verb (1)

noun

1.

a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building

2.

anything tall and thin approximating the shape of a column or tower

  • “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”
Synonyms
3.

verb

1.

appear very large or occupy a commanding position

  • “The huge sculpture predominates over the fountain”
  • “Large shadows loomed on the canyon wall”
Synonyms

Origin

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.

Phrases

  • airport tower
  • antenna tower
  • apartment tower
  • ATC tower
  • beacon tower
  • bell tower
  • bridge tower
  • bubble tower
  • tower over

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.