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'Toe' is the digit on the foot; 'tow' means to pull a vehicle with another, or is the rope/cable used.
Side-by-side comparison
"Toe" is one of the five digits on the foot. "Big toe" = the largest of the five. "Toe the line" = to follow rules strictly without deviation. "Tiptoe" = to walk quietly on the tips of the toes.
She stubbed her toe on the corner of the desk in the dark.
The new employee toed the company line without raising any questions.
He stood on tiptoe to see over the crowd at the concert.
"Tow" as a verb is to pull a broken-down vehicle or boat. "Tow truck" = a truck for pulling stranded vehicles. As a noun: the rope or bar used for pulling. "In tow" = following close behind someone.
The breakdown truck towed the damaged vehicle off the motorway.
They hired a boat to tow the yacht into harbour after the engine failed.
The car was left on double yellow lines and was towed away overnight.
Common mistake
- •The most common mistake: "tow the line" when meaning the idiom "follow rules exactly" is wrong, the correct form is "toe the line" (to touch the line with your toe).
- •Also: "She toed her car to the garage" when meaning hauled it is wrong (correct: towed).
Trick to remember it
- •"Toe" ends in OE like "doe" and "foe", short, physical things like a foot digit.
- •"Tow" ends in OW like "flow" and "row", things involving movement or pulling forward.
Quick rule
Is it the foot digit or the idiom "toe the line"? "Toe." Is it pulling a vehicle or the cable used? "Tow."
Did you know?
"Toe the line" comes from the athletic and military practice of aligning the tip of the foot exactly on a marked line before a race or military formation. Soldiers literally placed their toes on the formation line as a sign of discipline and obedience. "Tow the line" is an "eggcorn", a term coined by linguist Geoffrey Pullum in 2003 from a real confusion: a speaker who wrote "eggcorn" instead of "acorn." An eggcorn is a misinterpretation of a word or phrase that nevertheless seems to have its own internal logic. "Tow the line" sounds plausible (hauling a boat line), but etymologically only "toe" makes sense.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
He stubbed his _____ on the corner of the table and yelped in pain.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The car broke down so they had to _____ it to the nearest garage.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
One means to receive or agree to something, the other means to exclude or not include.
'Advice' is the guidance you receive (noun); 'advise' is the act of giving that guidance (verb).
'Affect' is the verb meaning to influence something; 'effect' is the noun meaning result or consequence.
'Aisle' is the walkway between rows of seats or shelves; 'isle' is a small island.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy