towage

7.4

Pulling a vehicle or boat using another vehicle

noun
/ˈtoʊɪdʒ/

Specialized

: remolque

Tugboats provide towage services that are essential for moving large ships in and out of the harbor.

Examples

When the towage was not paid, the tugboat company applied for a voluntary auction sale on the ship when the ship entered a port in Korea.

Academic text (2017)
Sometimes, when practical, 'cordelling,' or hauling the luggers by horse or manpower is resorted to, and at times steam towage is employed, all of which, of course, is an element of further expense.

Academic text (1996)
The towage of the stranded vessel required a team of skilled professionals.
The fisherman arranged for towage to help retrieve his boat after it drifted away.

Synonyms

tow

vstowage

128 2.0

An act of pulling a vehicle behind another to move it

is the broader act or process of pulling or carrying by ropes or hitches

hauling

vstowage

11 2.6

The activity of moving goods by truck or large vehicle

is about pulling with ropes or chains rather than vehicle transport

carting

vstowage

2 3.4

Carrying away waste or unwanted things by truck

involves pulling with ropes or chains not only short local transport

haulage

vstowage

1 6.2

The moving of goods by road or rail

is centered on pulling items using hitches or ropes rather than vehicles

cartage

vstowage

Archaic

1 8.4

The cost of moving goods a short distance by truck or cart

covers carrying or pulling by rope or hitch not only short local runs

Surface Forms

towage singular

towages plural

Morphology

towage = tow (transparent) = tow + age

Formed by the productive noun-forming suffix '-age' added to the verb 'tow', yielding 'the act or process of towing'.

Etymology

The word towage comes from the simple verb tow, which means 'to pull', and the ending -age, which shows 'the act of' doing something. So towage is the act of pulling a ship or a car, usually by rope or a tow truck.