towel

[tou-uh l, 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 or (especially British) towelled, towelling.
2.
to wipe or dry with a towel.
Idioms
3.
throw in the towel, Informal. to concede defeat; give up; yield:
He vowed he would never throw in the towel.
Origin
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
Examples from the web for towel
  • Cover the pieces of dough with a dry, clean towel while you process each piece to prevent drying.
  • Finally, place them on top of a paper towel to absorb excess grease.
  • People hustle to put each animal on a clean towel in a cardboard box that once held bananas.
  • They then blind them with a spotlight, scoop them up with a large net and cover their heads with a towel to calm them.
  • The towel needs to be fairly taut across the top of the bowl to prevent it from sagging into the water.
  • When you attempt to retreat to your towel, you find it has blown away.
  • Dampen board surface by brushing with water and blotting off excess with a cloth or paper towel.
  • Use a clean cloth or paper towel to rub down the print as you go.
  • Dip peaches quickly in hot water, then rub off the fur with a towel.
  • It would be a foolish riddle if the answer were: a towel.
British Dictionary definitions for towel

towel

/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.
throw in the towel, See throw in (sense 4)
verb (transitive) -els, -elling, -elled (US) -els, -eling, -eled
4.
to dry or wipe with a towel
5.
(Austral, slang) often foll by up. to assault or beat (a person)
Word Origin
C13: from Old French toaille, of Germanic origin; related to Old High German dwahal bath, Old Saxon twahila towel, Gothic thwahan to wash
Word Origin and History for towel
n.

late 13c., from Old French toaille (12c.), from Frankish *thwahlja, from Proto-Germanic *thwakhlijon (cf. Old Saxon thwahila, Middle Dutch dwale "towel," Dutch dwaal "altar cloth," Old High German dwehila "towel," German dialectal Zwehle "napkin"); related to German zwagen, Old English þwean "to wash." Spanish toalla, Italian tovaglia are Germanic loan-words.

v.

1836, from towel (n.). Related: Towelled; towelling.

Slang definitions & phrases for towel

towel

Related Terms

throw in the towel


Idioms and Phrases with towel

towel

see: