tower

1 of 2

noun

tow·​er ˈtau̇(-ə)r How to pronounce tower (audio)
1
: a building or structure typically higher than its diameter and high relative to its surroundings that may stand apart (such as a campanile) or be attached (such as a church belfry) to a larger structure and that may be fully walled in or of skeleton framework (such as an observation or transmission tower)
2
: a towering citadel : fortress
3
: one that provides support or protection : bulwark
a tower of strength
4
: a personal computer case that stands in an upright position
towered adjective
towerlike adjective

tower

2 of 2

verb

towered; towering; towers

intransitive verb

1
: to reach or rise to a great height
2
: to exhibit superior qualities : surpass
her intellect towered over the others'

Examples of tower in a Sentence

Noun a hill from which one can gaze upon the towers of that great and historic city
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Another possibility being considered is that the failure of columns at the tower’s southern edge is what triggered the collapse of the pool deck and then the tower. Aaron Leibowitz, Miami Herald, 7 Mar. 2024 The East Mason Street bike room, at the company's 32-story office tower and commons, will accommodate 154 bikes internally and 16 bikes on the exterior. Tom Daykin, Journal Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2024 Yamamoto was influenced by his mentor, the architect Hiroshi Hara, designer of the Umeda Sky Building in Osaka, which features two towers connected at the top by glass bridges and is now considered a landmark. Robin Pogrebin, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024 The pathway and tower have a maximum slope of six percent, so strollers and wheelchairs can access the entire experience. Elizabeth Rhodes, Travel + Leisure, 4 Mar. 2024 Thanks in large part to the 2022 World Cup, Qatar’s capital city continues to rise higher in the collective imagination of global travelers and in the sky itself, with the opening of new luxury hotel towers. Passport By Forbeslife, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 The bad news is that's because she was medically evacuated on day 3 after injuring her wrist while making a 25-foot jump from a tower onto a net during the first immunity challenge. Dalton Ross, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024 The Trump Organization owns or invests in multiple office towers from New York to San Francisco. Erik Larson, Fortune, 29 Feb. 2024 That sale coincided with the completion last year of a new office tower in Vancouver that CPPIB developed with the same pension fund, and the partners wanted to keep their overall exposure to the city’s office market from increasing, a person familiar with their thinking said. Ari Altstedter, Fortune, 27 Feb. 2024
Verb
Lawrence neglected to add the towering powdered wig Moss was styled in back in 1996 for the after-party, but the empire waist and négligée frills were pure Joséphine Bonaparte. Kerry McDermott, Vogue, 11 Mar. 2024 Not shown: the towering silver glitter Christian Loutoubin platforms that gave the actress a lift. 19 of 21 Michelle Yeoh Presenter Michelle Yeoh glimmered on the red carpet in a custom Balenciaga cowl neck gown, gloves and a show-stopping watch. Jackie Fields, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024 Director Christopher Nolan’s movie is a towering achievement. John Fund, National Review, 10 Mar. 2024 For that last one, the narrow-gauge train puts you within easy reach of the towering Krimml Waterfalls. Anne Olivia Bauso, Travel + Leisure, 9 Mar. 2024 This is a towering achievement, combining an intimate character study with large-canvas exploration of scientific obsession, American exceptionalism and political gamesmanship, while also demonstrating that movies tackling knotty subjects don’t need to be dumbed down to draw a rapt audience. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Mar. 2024 True freshman Judd Anderson, who towered above the rest at 6-7, also tossed some passes. Susan Miller Degnan, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2024 Despite the land’s ethereal beauty, the National Park Service was not initially interested in Death Valley, Miller said, because desert preserves didn’t fit the archetypical idea of a national park, with towering pines and grand mountain vistas. Reis Thebault, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024 There are three eggs in the couple’s jumbo nest, which measures about 5 feet across and 5 deep and sits atop a towering Jeffrey pine with a shining mountain lake as a backdrop. Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tower.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English tour, tor, from Old English torr & Anglo-French tur, tour, both from Latin turris, from Greek tyrris, tyrsis

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of tower was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near tower

Cite this Entry

“Tower.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tower. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

tower

1 of 2 noun
tow·​er ˈtau̇(-ə)r How to pronounce tower (audio)
1
: a tall narrow building or structure that may stand by itself or be attached to a larger structure
2
towered adjective

tower

2 of 2 verb
: to reach or rise to a great height

More from Merriam-Webster on tower

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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