Tom Thumb

American  

noun

1. a diminutive hero of folk tales.

2. an extremely small person; dwarf.

3. General, nickname of Charles Sherwood Stratton.

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Tom Thumb British  

noun

1. General, stage name of Charles Stratton. 1838–83, US midget, exhibited in P. T. Barnum's circus

2. a dwarf; midget

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Tom Thumb Cultural  

1. A thumb-sized hero of children's stories from the sixteenth century on.

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Etymology

Origin of Tom Thumb

after Tom Thumb, the tiny hero of several English folk tales

Example Sentences

Ishika Santosh Wade did most of her grocery shopping at Texas supermarket chain Tom Thumb, owned by Albertsons, until inflation soared in 2022.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

Tomatoes such as Early Girl, Roma, Health Kick and Tom Thumb are some of the common compact tomato varieties that work well for containers, he said.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 25, 2023

Tom Thumb, Chang and Eng, even animal acts like Jumbo the elephant.

From Washington Post • Oct. 18, 2019

My heart broke for Haydon, especially since I know, with zero doubt, that if given the choice, I’d have gone to see Tom Thumb.

From New York Times • Jul. 26, 2018

There is a flourish of trumpets, and enter Tom Thumb.

From Leigh Hunt's Relations with Byron, Shelley and Keats by Miller, Barnette

Related Words

• gnome
• goblin
• gremlin
• hobgoblin
• troll