tow
/təʊ/
"tow" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“tow” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #10,950) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.
- #10,950
- frequency rank, English
- 3,151
- “T” headwords
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To pull something behind one, such as by using a line, chain, or tongue.
Corpus desk
Index EN-tow · tow · English
tow · rank #10,950 · 0 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-MID #10,950
- LEN-MID 3 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,151
- PHOTO-FINISH trainers
Nearest frequency peer: trainers (+1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “tow”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- thrill
thrill
89,054 corpus weight
- tile
tile
89,053 corpus weight
- tow
tow
89,051 corpus weight
- trainers
trainers
89,050 corpus weight
- translations
translations
89,049 corpus weight
- trusting
trusting
89,048 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “tow” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | tow |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /təʊ/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #10,950 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tow” sits in English frequency
Easy to mix with look-alikes
The spelling risk for tow is neighbouring look-alikes ("TV", "TX", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /təʊ/. Frequency #10,950 among 3,151 “T” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.
Zero misspellings are on record for tow in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "TV", "TX", "Tu", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English towen, from Old English togian, from Proto-West Germanic *togōn, from Proto-Germanic *tugōną, from Proto-Indo-European *dewk-. See also Middle High German zogen, German ziehen, Dutch tijgen, Old Norse toga. The correct English form is tow, spelled T-O-W.
Definition
- 1To pull something behind one, such as by using a line, chain, or tongue.
- 2To aid someone behind by shielding them from wind resistance.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how tow appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Near-synonyms: draw, haul, pull, trail
In its current specification it cannot be driven and must be towed to its work location by a locomotive.
Etymology
From Middle English towen, from Old English togian, from Proto-West Germanic *togōn, from Proto-Germanic *tugōną, from Proto-Indo-European *dewk-. See also Middle High German zogen, German ziehen, Dutch tijgen, Old Norse toga.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "tow", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
What to do next
You've looked up "tow". Here's where to go from here.
- "tow" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "TV". View pair
- Usage frequency rank #10,950 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "T" letter cohort. T–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.