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tower

noun · verb

Simple meaning

Any very tall building or structure.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

tower

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈtaʊɚ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. Any very tall building or structure; skyscraper.

  2. A very tall iron-framed structure, usually painted red and white, on which microwave, radio, satellite, or other communication antennas are installed; mast.

  3. A similarly framed structure with a platform or enclosed area on top, used as a lookout for spotting fires, plane crashes, fugitives, etc.

  4. figuratively

    An item of various kinds, such as a computer case, that is higher than it is wide.

  5. The sixteenth trump or Major Arcana card in many Tarot decks, usually deemed an ill omen.

  6. UKwith 'the'

    The Tower of London, especially seen as a place of imprisonment or punishment.

verb

  1. intransitive

    To be very tall.

  2. intransitive

    To be high or lofty; to soar.

  3. Appear very large or occupy a commanding position

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Any very tall building or structure; skyscraper.

Used this way, tower is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Moderate
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

ivory towerbell towerclock towerchurch towerwater towercontrol towertower hillcooling tower

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • tower blocknounCompound term

    Tower consisting of a multistoried building of offices or apartments.

  • tower cressnounCompound term

    Or genus Arabis: erect cress widely distributed throughout Europe.

  • tower mustardnounCompound term

    Or genus Arabis: erect cress widely distributed throughout Europe.

  • tower of babelnounCompound term

    A tower built by Noah's descendants (probably in Babylon) who intended it to reach up to heaven.

  • tower of londonnounCompound term

    A fortress in London on the Thames.

  • tower of pharosnounCompound term

    A great lighthouse (500 feet high) built at Alexandria in 285 BC.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.