A tow truck is the vehicle that drags a broken-down car away. A crane on the back, or a flatbed that tilts.
American English says tow truck and British English usually says recovery vehicle or breakdown truck, and the flatbed sort is now commoner than the old hook and chain, since modern cars are easily damaged by being dragged. Being towed is what a breakdown policy pays for. The verb tow is what one vehicle does to another, and a tow rope is the cheap alternative.
1nountow truckA vehicle used to tow away broken-down or illegally parked cars.
“A tow truck came out within the hour.”
From tow + truck.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in A Man Called Ove, Vehicles & Machines
First appears in chapter 34 of A Man Called Ove.
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