TOWEL (towelled, towelling)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: towelled    , towelling   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does towel mean? 

• TOWEL (noun)
  The noun TOWEL has 1 sense:

1. a rectangular piece of absorbent cloth (or paper) for drying or wiping

  Familiarity information: TOWEL used as a noun is very rare.

• TOWEL (verb)
  The verb TOWEL has 1 sense:

1. wipe with a towel

  Familiarity information: TOWEL used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TOWEL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A rectangular piece of absorbent cloth (or paper) for drying or wiping

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("towel" is a kind of...):

piece of cloth; piece of material (a separate part consisting of fabric)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "towel"):

bath towel (a large towel; to dry yourself after a bath)

beach towel (very large towel to dry yourself after swimming)

dish towel; dishtowel; tea towel (a towel for drying dishes)

face towel; hand towel (a small towel used to dry the hands or face)

paper towel (a disposable towel made of absorbent paper)

roller towel (a towel with the ends sewn together, hung on a roller)

Derivation:

towel (wipe with a towel)

• TOWEL (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they towel    ... he / she / it towels   
Past simple: toweled    / towelled   
Past participle: toweled    / towelled   
-ing form: toweling    / towelling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Wipe with a towel

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

towel your hair dry

Hypernyms (to "towel" is one way to...):

pass over; wipe (rub with a circular motion)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

towel (a rectangular piece of absorbent cloth (or paper) for drying or wiping)

 Context examples 

"With pleasure," she answered, and brought a towel at once.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

Flick them in the face with a wet towel, and flick them hard.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

He passed a towel over it and looked again, long and carefully.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD) Prepare the water, towels, and soap for washing, taking a bath or a shower?

(DAD - Prepare the Water, Towels, and Soap for Washing, Taking a Bath or Shower, NCI Thesaurus)

Sponges, towels, and some brandy in a bladder were passed over the heads of the crowd for the use of the seconds.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

At length, Dora regularly muffled him in a towel and shut him up there, whenever my aunt was reported at the door.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

She consented; and she even brought me a clean towel to spread over my dress, "lest," as she said, "I should mucky it."

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Then patchwork or towels appeared, and Amy sewed with outward meekness and inward rebellion till dusk, when she was allowed to amuse herself as she liked till teatime.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

While the researchers acknowledge that implementing this process in conventional reverse osmosis systems is taxing, they propose a spiral-wound module system, similar to a roll of towels.

(Novel Technology Uses Bacteria for Cleaning Water, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

When Mr Korbes came home, he went to the fireplace to make a fire; but the cat threw all the ashes in his eyes: so he ran to the kitchen to wash himself; but there the duck splashed all the water in his face; and when he tried to wipe himself, the egg broke to pieces in the towel all over his face and eyes.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)