Tolkien

American  

[tohl-keen, tol-] / ˈtoʊl kin, ˈtɒl- /

noun

1. J(ohn) R(onald) R(euel) 1892–1973, English novelist, philologist, and teacher, born in South Africa.

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Tolkien British  

/ ˈtɒlkiːn /

noun

1. J ( ohn ) R ( onald ) R ( euel ). 1892–1973, British philologist and writer, born in South Africa. He is best known for The Hobbit (1937), the trilogy The Lord of the Rings (1954–55), and the posthumously published The Silmarillion (1977)

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Other Word Forms

• Tolkienesque
  adjective

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Tolkien

Eileen Elgar, who died in 1980, used to live near the Hotel Miramar in Bournemouth where Tolkien and his wife holidayed every year.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

Their imaginations seem to have been fed on solely on “Starship Troopers” and little else except maybe some Tolkien.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 1, 2026

Tolkien obsessive – and his son Peter McGee are collaborating with screenwriter Philippa Boyens on a new “Lord of the Rings” film, for one.

From Salon ● May 21, 2026

"But as Tolkien wrote, it's the small, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay, small acts of kindness and love," he said.

From Barron's ● Feb. 3, 2026

Dagorath was a word in Sindarin, the Elvish language J. R. R. Tolkien had created for The Lord of the Rings.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline