Meaning & use
towelling
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Meanings
noununcountableBritish
A thick, soft cotton fabric with small loops on its surface, used to make towels, bathrobes and similar items that soak up water.
Grammar: No plural and no 'a': a robe of towelling, not a towelling.
Patterns
- towelling robe
- made of towelling
She wrapped herself in a bathrobe made of white towelling.
The baby's hooded poncho is soft terry towelling.
Cheap towelling wears thin after a few dozen washes.
noununcountableBritishold-fashioned
The act of drying a person or thing with a towel.
Grammar: Describes the action, often with a quick rub: a vigorous towelling.
Patterns
- give someone a towelling
After the swim the coach gave each child a brisk towelling.
A good towelling left his hair standing on end.
Common combinations
- terry towelling
- The wristbands were made of terry towelling.
- towelling robe
- He answered the door in a towelling robe.
- towelling fabric
- Towelling fabric absorbs water very well.
- cotton towelling
- The nappies were lined with cotton towelling.
- a vigorous towelling
- A vigorous towelling warmed him up after the cold dip.
Synonyms and how they differ
- terry cloth
- Terry cloth is the American term for the same looped fabric, while towelling is the more common word in British English.
- toweling
- Toweling is simply the American spelling, so choose it when writing for a US audience.
- terry
- Terry is shorter and usually names the loop weave itself, so it is often used in phrases like terry robe rather than for the whole material.
Word family
Commonly confused: towelling or toweling?
towelling vs toweling
This is the American spelling of the same word, not a different one; use one spelling consistently in a text.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'towelling' correctly as a fabric?
Choose one answer.
Towelling is an uncountable noun meaning the fabric, so 'made of soft towelling' fits. The first option wrongly pluralizes it, and the last two use it as if it were a finite verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “towelling”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.