tower
Word family adjectivetowabletowynountowagetowertowingtowlinetowpathtowplaneverbtow
Building
tow·er1 /ˈtaʊə $ -ər/ ●●○ S3 W3 noun [countableC] 
1 TBa tall narrow building either built on its own or forming part of a castle, church etc 塔；塔楼 the Eiffel Tower
埃菲尔铁塔
a castle with tall towers
有高高的塔楼的城堡
bell/clock tower
The bell tower was added to the church in 1848.
教堂的钟楼是1848年增建的。
tower of
the leaning tower of Pisa
比萨斜塔
2 TCa tall structure, often made of metal, used for signalling, broadcasting etc 〔发送信号、广播等的〕塔台
an air traffic control tower
空中交通管制塔
3 tower of strength HELPsomeone who gives you a lot of help, sympathy, and support when you are in trouble 〔在遇到麻烦时〕可依靠的人；力量的支柱
Her father was a tower of strength to her when her marriage broke up.
在她婚姻破裂的时候，父亲是她的支柱。
Examples from the Corpus
tower of strength• You're always a tower of strength.• My mother has been a tower of strength.• Tactful, encouraging, a tower of strength to lean on.• John seems a tower of strength and reason.• She was a tower of strength, giving me lessons on a weekly basis.
4 a tall piece of furniture that you use to store things 〔存放物品的〕高架子
→ cooling tower, ivory tower, water tower a CD tower
激光唱片柜
Examples from the Corpus
tower• The bell tower came into view, a square slim block of stone separated from the church by a dozen yards.• The local army base, a corrugated fortress with a spindly camera tower, is pressed right up against a primary school.• a clock tower• At Montego Bay there was an overall shed backed by a long building with an elaborate tower.• In the distance, above the roofs, the high towers of the adjoining sectors could be seen.• radio towers• Up ahead, the towers of New York Hospital rose straight up from the edge of the highway.• It bounced back on the field after it hit the tower, and Willie Mays retrieved it for me.• Then Henrietta and Samantha charged up to the tower, with Jacqueline stumbling after them, to quarrel about their bedrooms.
bell/clock tower• In little villages it is often a white clapboard building with a hip roof and a bell tower.• Tell Sandy's sister she was dead, hung by a rope inside an ancient bell tower?• The famous clock tower stays as a permanent reminder.• The building is surrounded by walls and the visitor enters through the great bell tower gateway.• The east end is apsidal with three polygonal apses and there is a later bell tower at the south side.• The only additions are the 30-year-old first pier and the clock tower seen in the distance.• Marge looked up from the facade to the bell tower and saw that it supported a set of loudspeakers on either side.• The bell tower dates from the eleventh-century and is the oldest in the Lombardy Romanesque style that still exists.
tower2 verb [intransitiveI]
1 HIGHTALL PERSONto be much taller than the people or things around you 〔比周围的人或物体〕高出许多；高耸，屹立
tower above/over
He towered over his mother.
他比他的母亲高出很多。
2 BETTERto be much better than any other person or organization that does the same thing as you 胜过，超过〔从事同样工作的其他人或机构〕
tower above/over
Mozart towers over all other composers.
莫扎特远远超过所有其他作曲家。
Examples from the Corpus
tower• He stooped and towered above me.• They tower over the rest of the world in the Atlanta medals table.• As it grew gradually nearer, and larger, they soon found it towering over them - a mighty steel fortress.• I stood there feeling ugly and out of place, a large man towering over this crumpled child.• It towered so far above me I couldn't even see the top of it.• The Cyclopes, too, were gigantic, towering up like mighty mountain crags and devastating in their power.
tower above/over• Big for his age, he towered over Garry who was eleven.• She points to tall, blond, beautiful Mrs Liepa, who towers over her short husband.• He was so tall; still, now, he seemed to tower over her.• There was Hoppy Harper towering over the crowd, grinning.• The 150-foot-high Kalyan Minaret towers over the mosque and Mir-i-Arab.• It towered over the railway line and the makeshift station, a platform without a signboard.• They tower over the rest of the world in the Atlanta medals table.• Treetops towered above us as we chopped our way down.
tower above/over• Big for his age, he towered over Garry who was eleven.• She points to tall, blond, beautiful Mrs Liepa, who towers over her short husband.• He was so tall; still, now, he seemed to tower over her.• There was Hoppy Harper towering over the crowd, grinning.• The 150-foot-high Kalyan Minaret towers over the mosque and Mir-i-Arab.• It towered over the railway line and the makeshift station, a platform without a signboard.• They tower over the rest of the world in the Atlanta medals table.• Treetops towered above us as we chopped our way down.
the TowerTower, then
n → see Tower of London, the
(1100-1200) Old French tor, tur, from Latin turris, from Greek tyrsis