tam-tam

[ tuhm-tuhm, tam-tam ]

noun

a gong with indefinite pitch.
tom-tom.

Origin of tam-tam

First recorded in 1775–85; variant of tom-tom

Words Nearby tam-tam

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tam-tam in a sentence

Priests attend upon the goddess, and female dancers display their talent before her, accompanied by the loud music of the tam-tam.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida Pfeiffer
With a scorching whiff of sulphur and violets, a thin, spiral scream, the music tapered into the sepulchral clang of a tam-tam.
Melomaniacs | James Huneker
Again the page was played, the tam-tam's thin edge set shivering with mournful resonance.
Melomaniacs | James Huneker
Mr. Templeton ordered out the brass band and the Hindoo tam tam.
Jimmy, Lucy, and All | Sophie May
I was, however, much better received on my second visit to Chaiapume, and required neither tam-tam nor cane.
Travels in the Central Parts of Indo-China (Siam), Cambodia, and Laos (Vol. 2 of 2) | Henri Mouhot

British Dictionary definitions for tam-tam

tam-tam

noun

another name for gong (def. 1)

Origin of tam-tam

from Hindi: see tom-tom

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

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