towel bar
2
2.3
- noun
- /ˈtaʊəl bɑr/
- US
:
barra de toalla
- After taking a shower, she hung her wet towel over the towel bar to dry.
Examples
-
Al finished drying himself and hung the towel neatly over a towel bar.
Fiction book (1992) -
She lined up the rest of her arsenal on the counter, then worked the towel bar out of its holders.
Fiction book (1994) -
-Is that really a towel bar?
-
-Is that a towel bar?
-
-It doesn't look like a towel bar.
-
We hung towel bars in the bathroom, complete with fresh towels.
Blog text (18) -
-A towel bar.
-
She sat on the closed toilet, the towel bar over one shoulder, and listened.
Fiction book (1994) -
The newly installed towel bar in the bathroom made it convenient to hang towels after washing hands.
-
He reached for the clean towel, which was neatly hanging on the towel bar next to the sink.
Synonyms
4
1.6
A bar or frame for hanging towels to dry in a bathroom
1
1.9
A round hoop on a wall for hanging a towel
A bar fixed to a wall for hanging towels to dry
A rack of bars for hanging towels to dry
How Many
- UK
4
1.6
- UK
- US
2
2.3
1
1.9
192
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a horizontal bar used for hanging towels' is directly and compositionally derived from 'towel' (cloth for drying) + 'bar' (a long rigid piece). This is a straightforward noun–noun compound describing an object by its function, a pattern common across languages and immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Towel bar is a very literal name: it joins towel and bar and shows a simple picture of a rod on the wall where you hang a towel. So it means 'a bar on the wall for hanging towels'.