tows

/təʊz/

//təʊz// noun

"tows" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tows” is uncommon English (frequency #69,527 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#69,527
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - plural of tow

Corpus desk

Index EN-tows · tows · English

tows · rank #69,527 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #69,527
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH towner

Nearest frequency peer: towner (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “tows”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “tows” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for tows
PropertyValue
Headwordtows
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/təʊz/
Letters4
Frequency rank#69,527
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “tows” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).towsfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “towner” (#69,526), “Toya” (#69,528), “Toyama” (#69,529). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tows” is #69,527. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

tows is uncommon English at frequency #69,527 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /təʊz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "plural of tow".

Zero misspellings are on record for tows in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is tows, spelled T-O-W-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    plural of tow

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tows"?
"tows" is spelled T-O-W-S. The IPA pronunciation is /təʊz/.
What does "tows" mean?
As a noun, "tows" means: plural of tow
How do you pronounce "tows"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tows" is /təʊz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tows" come from?
"tows" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "tows", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list