Towel Definition & Meaning

American

British

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Etymology

Examples

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Synonyms towel American [tou-uhl, toul] / ˈtaʊ əl, taʊl /

noun

1. an absorbent cloth or paper for wiping and drying something wet, as one for the hands, face, or body after washing or bathing.

verb (used with object)

toweled, toweling, towelled, towelling

1. to wipe or dry with a towel.

idioms

1. throw in the towel, to concede defeat; give up; yield.

   He vowed he would never throw in the towel.

towel British / ˈtaʊəl /

noun

1. a square or rectangular piece of absorbent cloth or paper used for drying the body

2. a similar piece of cloth used for drying plates, cutlery, etc

3. See throw in

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

1. to dry or wipe with a towel

2. slang to assault or beat (a person)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 towel More Idioms

1. see crying towel; throw in the sponge (towel).

Etymology

Origin of towel

1250–1300; Middle English (noun) < Old French toaille cloth for washing or wiping < West Germanic *thwahliō (> Old High German dwahilla, akin to dwahal bath); cognate with Gothic thwahl, thwēal washing

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It is on countless fridge magnets, tea towels and notebook covers.

From The Wall Street Journal

Rachel Tabacnic recently bought a water bottle, a glass soap pump and three large bath towels.

From The Wall Street Journal

Also of note, while investors were back to questioning AI plays on Thursday, strategists said that doesn’t mean people have been wholesale throwing in the towel on tech.

From MarketWatch

She coped by dabbing at her face with a small navy blue towel that magically appeared from under the table.

From Los Angeles Times

Jones knows that my mom usually cuts my hair over a towel in our kitchen.

From Literature

Related Words

• bake
• blot
• deplete
• drain
• empty
• evaporate
• exhaust
• sear
• shrivel
• wilt
• wipe
• wither

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.