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Tower vs Skyscraper - What's the difference?

tower | skyscraper |

In figuratively terms the difference between tower and skyscraper

is that tower is any item, such as a computer case, that is usually higher than it is wide while skyscraper is anything very tall or high.

As nouns the difference between tower and skyscraper

is that tower is a structure, usually taller than it is wide, often used as a lookout, usually unsupported by guy-wires while skyscraper is a very tall building with a great number of floors.

As a verb tower

is to be very tall.

tower

English

(wikipedia tower)

Alternative forms

* (obsolete)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) torr, from (etyl) turris. Probably influenced by Welsh .

Noun

(en noun)
  • A structure, usually taller than it is wide, often used as a lookout, usually unsupported by guy-wires.
  • From the top of the tower we could see far off into the distance.
  • (figuratively) Any item, such as a computer case, that is usually higher than it is wide.
  • (informal) An interlocking tower.
  • (figurative) A strong refuge; a defence.
  • * Bible, Psalms lxi. 3
  • Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.
  • (historical) A tall fashionable headdress.
  • * Hudibras
  • Lay trains of amorous intrigues / In towers , and curls, and periwigs.
  • (obsolete) High flight; elevation.
  • (Johnson)
  • The sixteenth trump or Major Arcana card in many decks, deemed an ill omen.
  • Synonyms
    * donjon
    Derived terms
    * control tower * guardtower * interlocking tower * radio tower * siege tower * tower of Babel * towers of Hanoi * tower of strength * watchtower * water tower

    See also

    * * mast

    Verb

  • To be very tall.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-03, volume=408, issue=8847, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Revenge of the nerds , passage=Think of banking today and the image is of grey-suited men in towering skyscrapers. Its future, however, is being shaped in converted warehouses and funky offices in San Francisco, New York and London, where bright young things in jeans and T-shirts huddle around laptops, sipping lattes or munching on free food.}}
  • To be high or lofty; to soar.
  • * (William Shakespeare)
  • My lord protector's hawks do tower so well.
  • (obsolete) To soar into.
  • (Milton)

    Derived terms

    * tower over

    Etymology 2

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One who tows.
  • * 1933 , Henry Sturmey, ?H. Walter Staner, The Autocar
  • But as the tower and towee reached the cross-roads again, another car, negligently driven, came round the corner, hit the Morris, and severed the tow rope, sending the unfortunate car back again into the shop window

    Anagrams

    *

    skyscraper

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A very tall building with a great number of floors.
  • * 1910 , (William Henry Irwin), The House of Mystery ,
  • As the curve of Sandy Hook blotted from sight the last, low glimpse of the skyscrapers which point Manhattan, Blake touched Annette's arm.
  • * 1912 , (w, Elliott O'Donnell), The Sorcery Club ,
  • The solitary attic—if one could thus designate a space of about three square feet—which comprised Hamar's lodging—had the advantage of being situated in the top storey of a skyscraper'—at least a ' skyscraper for that part of the city.
  • * 1917 , Herman Gastrell Seely, A Son of the City: A Story of Boy Life ,
  • Then he noticed, as a prosaic business man will notice suddenly, that a skyscraper which he has passed daily for months is out of line with its neighbor, that the seat behind the new little girl was unoccupied and that she stood alone in the aisle during exercises.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-08, volume=407, issue=8839, page=52, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= The new masters and commanders , passage=From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much.
  • (archaic) A small sail atop a mast of a ship.
  • (figuratively) Anything very tall or high.
  • * 1920 , (Zane Grey), The Redheaded Outfield and other Baseball Stories ,
  • It was no surprise to see Hanley bat a skyscraper out to left.