2140
towards 0-w /ta'wordz;
NAmE torrdz/ (also toward
/ta'woid; NAmE to:rd/ especially
in NAmE) prep.
1
in the direction of sb/sth [rJ ; ;
Jfj |f; They were
heading towards the German border, life Cl IE stf ft H S j&fto
o She
had her back towards me. !4rlts0
2
getting closer to achieving sth
) : This
is afirst step towards political union.
A63l£—3 close
or closer to a point in time fjiciS, 'ft it A ft— Bilal ) : towards the end of April jj
jg* 4 in relation to sb/sth jft; A
T‘: He was warm and tender towards her. ftfeAMKAft
1iXlfm.iL 0 our attitude towards death A ill ft At 63 5^® 5 with the aim of obtaining sth, or
helping sb to obtain sth III ••• ft
@ ^ g 63 ) ; f§ ft: The money
will go towards a new school building (= will help pay
for it). ft
tow bar noun a bar
fixed to the back of a vehicle for towing
(= pulling) another vehicle ( EW A 31 IS ft
63) mm, mn
towel frw /'taual/
noun, verb
m noun a piece of cloth or paper used for drying
things, especially your body % rj];
ft rfi; ft ft
; ft rfi: Help yourself to a clean towel, it ftrftftft rfi 88 0 o a
hand/bath towel (= a small/large towel) ft rfi; ?£frfi o a beach towel (= a
large towel used for lying on in the sun) $?$tAKfr§rfi o a kitchen towel (= a piece of paper from a roll that
you use to clean up liquid, etc. in the kitchen) —see also paper towel,
sani
tary towel, TEA towel USTEI
throw in the towel (informal) to admit that you
have been defeated and stop trying iAi«;
m verb (-II-, NAmE also -!-) [VN] ~ yourself/sb/sth
(down) to dry yourself/sb/sth with a towel EEtUft tow el ling (BrE) (US toweling) /’taualirj/
noun [U] a type of soft
cotton cloth that absorbs liquids, used especially for making towels ft rfi ft; ft rfi : a towelling bathrobe ftrfiftl§A
‘towel
rail (BrE) (NAmE 'towel rack) noun a bar or frame for hanging towels on in a bathroom ft
rfi M tower <H» /'taua(r)/
noun, verb
mnoun 1 a tall narrow building or part of a
building, especially of a church or castle if;
( 63 ) if &: a clock/bell tower o
the
used for sending
television or radio signals (
a television tower E if
3
(usually in compounds tall piece of
furniture used
for storing things jij ^ if: a CD tower ft Ifc IE — see also control
tower, cooling
TOWER, IVORY TOWER,
WATCHTOWER, WATER TOWER
IT»T71 a .tower of strength a
person that you can rely on to help, protect and comfort you when you are in
trouble ( A;3|Bi63 ) E$1163 A, At# mverb lilfEPI .tower
over/a'bove sb/sth 1 to be much higher or taller than the
people or things that are near it!) ft, liwt ( iEjfi63AsJt$[ ) : The
cliffs towered above them. M: M rE H it5 ^ ft lifefll _h A „ 0 He
towered over his classmates. flfe63ftJLtbM£jtfel3lftil5E-ft*o
2 to be much better than others in ability, quality, etc. ( ft mfj, )_-. She towers over other
dancers of her generation. IEBift63fPlMMo
'tower block noun (BrE) a very tall block
of flats/ apartments or offices AAAIt
towering /'tauarirj/ adj. [only
before noun] 1
extremely tall or high and therefore impressive A
63; rtj^63;
life A 63: towering cliffs j^.^.&3;§ili 2
of extremely high quality ft H 63; Ait] 6 A E ft, 63: a towering performance Eft, 63 AM 3 (of
emotions 'If ]fS) extremely strong (Ml 63; $i$163: a towering rage #MA^ tow-line/'taulain;
NAmE 'tou-/ noun = tow rope town JHr /taun/ noun
1 [C, U] a place with many houses, shops/stores, etc.
where people live and work. It is larger than a village but smaller than a
city, U; TfrK; HH: a university
town A^Mo They live in a rough part of town. ftfeClfr ftft rrrfti±.3^l7 M1&63 IXo O The nearest
town is ten miles away. ftffi63IIIM3&E#+^EjzSo 0 We
spent a month in the French town ofLe Puy. ffcOft—fttu
6AAS AtEEI#T—Aft . — see also small-town(2) RT3112 You will find other compounds ending in town at their place in the
alphabet. jftfifelA town £qM63S[ A
T^Eft#ftEE63itEtgSf!]o 2 the town [sing.]
the people
who live in a particular town ( 7jji(63
) ft
H:, ftps: The whole town is talking about it. A
IS 63 A 3 [U] the area of a town where most of the shops/stores and businesses are ( ) jffiik
E: Can
you give me a lift into town ? nj
IA If ft E 5U
— see also downtown, midtown, out- of-town^), uptown 4 [U] (especially NAmE) a particular town where sb lives
and works or one that has just been referred to ( ftjg, IE be
in town next week if you want to meet. ffiAj
ifr,
llcTASI^ft^ilo o He married a girl from out of town, life 3c 7 —
A ft fife M M o — see also out-of-town (1) 5
[sing., U] life in towns or cities as opposed to life in the country IsftrtJ ft ) : Pollution is
just one of the disadvantages of living in the town, ft A RJiftMftM6 HI go to 'town (on
sth) (informal) to do sth
with a lot of energy, enthusiasm, etc., especially by spending a lot of money
( A la
AMi't^ifefe ) A A-*# (out) on the 'town (informal) visiting restaurants, clubs,
theatres, etc. for entertainment, especially at night ( AltAE a
night on the town o How about
going out on the town tonight? AH&tB
.town and 'gown noun [U] the relationship between the people who live permanently in a town
where there is a university and the members of the university A A
.town ’centre noun (BrE) the main part
of a town, where the shops/stores are rfJ ft 7'; ( ® A ft
— compare downtown
.town 'clerk noun 1 (NAmE) a public officer in charge of the
records of a town ) 2 (BrE)
in the
past, the person who was the secretary of, and gave legal advice to, the local
government of a town
( IBRtlft )
.town ‘crier (also crier) noun (in the past)
a person whose job was to walk through a town shouting news, official ANNOUNCEMENTS,
etc. (
^
townee = townie(I)
.town 'hall noun a building containing local government offices and, in
meetings, concerts, etc. if A
ftf; MJf; ( )EH
'town house noun 1 (BrE) a house in a
town owned by sb who also has a house in the country ( ^ftfti
#63 ) ^Aft^ 2 (BrE) a tall narrow
house in a town that is part of a row of similar houses j##: an elegant
Georgian town house — # ft # ft ft 7 fj] A1$ M If 63 ft 3 (usually 'townhouse) (NAmE) = terraced
HOUSE
townie /'tauni/ noun (disapproving) 1 (also townee) a person who lives in or comes
from a town or city, especially sb who does not know much about life in the
countryside ( AIb ATM# It ft ft 63 ) MEA 2 (NAmE)
a person who
lives in a town with a college or university but does not attend or work at it
( A^Mft ft ft A ^i£A£AM#63 ) JgE, 3 (BrE, informal) a
member of a
group of young people who live in a town, all wear similar clothes, such as tracksuits and caps, and often behave
badly Wft, ( A#
mi, pAft^ )
.town 'meeting noun a meeting when people in a town come together to discuss problems that
affect the town and to give their opinions on various issues H K
AA
.town ' planner noun = planner(I)
.town 'planning (also plan-ning) noun [U] the control
of the development of towns and their buildings, roads,