From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtowertow‧er1 /ˈtaʊə $ -ər/ ●●○ S3 W3 noun [countable] 1 TBa tall narrow building either built on its own or forming part of a castle, church etc the Eiffel Tower a castle with tall towersbell/clock tower The bell tower was added to the church in 1848.tower of the leaning tower of Pisa2 TCa tall structure, often made of metal, used for signalling, broadcasting etc an air traffic control tower3 → tower of strength4 a tall piece of furniture that you use to store things a CD tower → cooling tower, ivory tower, water tower
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.towertower2 verb [intransitive] 1 HIGHTALL PERSONto be much taller than the people or things around youtower above/over He towered over his mother.2 BETTERto be much better than any other person or organization that does the same thing as youtower above/over Mozart towers over all other composers.→ See Verb tableExamples 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.Tower, thethe TowerTower, the → see Tower of London, theOrigin tower1 (1100-1200) Old French tor, tur, from Latin turris, from Greek tyrsis 