-thon

¹ British

suffix

indicating a large-scale event or operation of a specified kind

telethon

"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

thon ² British

/ ðɒn /

determiner

a Scot word for yon

"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

Etymology

Origin of -thon¹

C20: on the pattern of _marathon

Origin of thon²

C19: of uncertain origin

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.

See Examples For:

thon

Most of these made little impact, though one - "thon", a contraction of "that one" - got into two American dictionaries.

From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2015

He got unexpected help from Germany's Wilhelm Bungert, who upset Australia's No. 1 -seeded Roy Emerson in a mara thon quarterfinal.

From Time Magazine Archive

Manhattan's Lord & Taylor opened a special shop, "Great Snakes," last month, stocked it with everything from real py thon tunics to synthetic-snake robes, jackets and dresses, and fake python steamer trunks.

From Time Magazine Archive

I would give a hundred pounds te see thon agin—so I wud.

From Humours of Irish Life by Various

"Sure thon's a quare steady fellow, thon Doctor, an' he will hae an eye to Henry."

From The Argosy Vol. 51, No. 3, March, 1891 by Charles W. Wood

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