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Tom Thumb

American  

noun

  1. a diminutive hero of folk tales.

  2. an extremely small person; dwarf.

  3. General, nickname of Charles Sherwood Stratton.

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Tom Thumb Cultural  

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

Etymology

Origin of Tom Thumb

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Tom Thumb: Most stores will have adjusted hours.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 20, 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

On or about this day in 1830, the Tom Thumb, the first American-built steam locomotive, sought to demonstrate the superiority of steam power by racing a horse.

From Slate • Aug. 28, 2017

The trial was successful, for "Tom Thumb" drew a car-load of passengers at the rate of fifteen to eighteen miles per hour.

From Great Inventions and Discoveries by Piercy, Willis Duff

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.