tor

Meanings

1. 1nouncountableBritishspecialist

   A tall rocky hill or a pile of bare rocks standing on top of a hill, formed by weathering.

   Grammar: Often part of a place name: Haytor, Hound Tor.

   Patterns

   • a granite tor
   • climb a tor

   We climbed the tor to watch the sunset over the moor.

   Weather has shaped the granite tor over millions of years.

   The cottage sits below a windy tor on Dartmoor.

2. 2proper nounpropercomputing

   A free software system that hides a user's internet location by passing traffic through several volunteer computers.

   Grammar: Always capitalized as Tor, often used without an article.

   Patterns

   • use Tor
   • connect through Tor

   Journalists sometimes use Tor to protect their sources.

   She connected through Tor to avoid being tracked.

   Tor routes traffic through several relays before it reaches a site.

Word forms

Common combinations

granite tor

A granite tor rose above the heather.

climb a tor

Families climb the tor on summer weekends.

rocky tor

A rocky tor marks the edge of the moor.

use Tor

Activists use Tor to browse privately.

Synonyms and how they differ

crag

A crag is a steep, rugged rock face or cliff, while a tor is the rocky summit of a hill.

outcrop

An outcrop is any rock that sticks out of the ground, but a tor is a prominent, often piled outcrop on a hill.

peak

A peak is just the highest point of a mountain, whereas a tor has a distinctive jagged rocky top.

Word family

tors noun

the plural form

torside noun

the slope of a tor, rarely used

moor noun

open uncultivated high land where tors often stand

Commonly confused: tor or tore? tor or tour?

Practice

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