tolbooth
Americannoun
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a town jail.
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a town hall or guild hall, especially a place where tolls are paid.
noun
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a town hall
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a variant spelling of tollbooth
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tolbooth
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at tollbooth
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.
The market-place has lost its curious old tolbooth, and in its place stands a town hall of good Tudor design.
From Yorkshire by Home, Gordon
Scoone took him to his house till the keys of the tolbooth were had.
From Biographia Scoticana (Scots Worthies) A Brief Historical Account of the Lives, Characters, and Memorable Transactions of the Most Eminent Scots Worthies by Howie, John
It was the fault of yon Highland cateran, whom it is my curse to be cumbered with; but he shall go back to his glens tomorrow, or taste the tolbooth of the burgh.
From The Fair Maid of Perth Or, St. Valentine's Day by Scott, Walter, Sir
Syne I called up Mattie and bade her light the lamp and convoy me down to the tolbooth.
From Red Cap Tales Stolen from the Treasure Chest of the Wizard of the North by Scott, Walter, Sir
He was then carried back to the tolbooth through the guards, the people making lamentation for him by the way.
From Biographia Scoticana (Scots Worthies) A Brief Historical Account of the Lives, Characters, and Memorable Transactions of the Most Eminent Scots Worthies by Howie, John
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.
