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towel

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towel

  • /ˈtaʊ̯əl/ Canada, US, UK
  • [ˈtʰaʊ̯.(w)l̩] Canada, US, UK
  • /ˈtæʊ̯əl/
  • [ˈtæʊ̯.l̩]
  • /ˈtaːəl/
  • [ˈtʰaːl̩]

Rhymes with -aʊl, -aʊəl

Where it comes from

From Middle English towayle, towel, towail, towaille, from Old French toaille (“towel”) (modern French touaille), Medieval Latin toallia, from Frankish *þwahilu (“cloth”), from Proto-Germanic *þwahaną (“to wash”). Cognate with Old High German dwahila (“towel”) (modern dialectal German Zwehle), Dutch dwaal (“towel”), dweil (“mop”), Low German Dweel (“towel”), Old English þwǣle (“band; ribbon; fillet”), Old English þwēan (“to wash”).

noun towels

  1. A cloth used for wiping, especially one used for drying anything wet, such as a person after a bath. He needed a towel for wiping the slippery floor.

verb towels · toweling · towelling · toweled · towelled

  1. transitive To dry by using a towel. He got out of the shower and toweled himself dry.
  2. transitive To hit with a towel.
  3. transitive To block up (a door, etc.) with a towel, to conceal the fumes of a recreational drug. We would open the windows, towel the door, and turn my bedroom into an Allman Brothers concert.
  4. UK, dialectal, obsolete, transitive To beat with a stick, or "oaken towel".

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: napkin, laundry, toilet, terry, washroom, pad, bag, tissue, blanket, cloth, linen, ring, suitcase, briefcase, wipe, fabric

Translations

Every language

noun cloth used for wiping

Españoltoalla, toballa, tobaja, fazaleja
한국어수건 sugeon, 타월 tawol
日本語タオル taoru
中文毛巾 máojīn, 手巾 shǒujīn
हिन्दीतौलिया tauliyā, अँगौछा aṅgauchā
Kiswahilitaulo
Portuguêstoalha
Françaisserviette
DeutschHandtuch
Italianoasciugamano
Ελληνικάπετσέτα petséta
Românăprosop
Русскийполоте́нце poloténce, рушни́к rušník, ручни́к ručník
Tiếng Việtkhăn
العربيةمِنْشَفَة minšafa
עבריתמַגֶּבֶת magévet

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Cite this
MLA

"towel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/towel. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

towel. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/towel

Chicago

"towel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/towel.

BibTeX
@misc{towel_2026,
  title = {towel},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/towel},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}