tom
noun
the male of various animals, as the turkey.
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tom
1 American
[tom]
/ tɒm /
noun
-
toms
plural
-
the male of various animals, as the turkey.
-
a tomcat.
Tom
2
American
[tom]
/ tɒm /
ToM
3
American
Or
TOM
abbreviation
tom
1
British
/ tɒm /
noun
tom
2
British
/ tɒm /
noun
Tom
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of tom
First recorded in 1755–65; generic use of the male given name Tom
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:
It also shines in fish stews and soups of all kinds, from cacciucco to tom kha gai to cioppino or caldeirada.
From Salon ● Apr. 3, 2025
During concerts, Carlos Niño may set up a bass drum and a floor tom, but his percussion is far from conventional.
From New York Times ● May 13, 2024
The current menu at Secret Congee contains eight kinds made with high-quality ingredients, including the tom yum shrimp, traditional-but-better chicken, slow-cooked brisket with kimchi, and Hokkaido scallops with fried garlic.
From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2024
Bush offered a public assurance, saying, “this fine tom turkey, that he will not end up on anyone’s dinner table.”
From Washington Times ● Nov. 21, 2023
In the corner of the Palace they built a wire cage and in it their collection of angry tom cats grew with every night.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
Both Jon's children Tom, 10 and Sion, six, help their dad with sorting the clothes out.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
“Restricting exports is indeed a lever China can pull anytime, but it still entails economic costs,” said Tom Reed, head of oil market analysis at Argus Media, a price reporting agency.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said on X that the United Nations was "moving at speed to save lives".
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
My wife typically gets bored quickly in a vintage clothing store, but when I find her the perfect-fitting Tom Petty or John Lennon shirt, she perks right up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Tom Crean made a miniature sled for his puppies, and Worsley described their first attempt at pulling.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
But is it possible to hold a full ToM along with a complete recognition of reality?
From Salon ● May 25, 2013
The ideal situation, therefore, would be to relish and use both our full ToM as well as our ability to deny reality, allowing us optimism.
From Salon ● May 25, 2013
He had to just play kick and snare and toms because if you hit the cymbals they’d reverberate for 20 minutes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2025
This is originally a piano solo, yet Sorey’s skittering cymbal work was closely attuned to the score, his floor toms tuned to highlight the densest chordal moments in Tao’s interpretation of the notated material.
From New York Times ● May 8, 2023
"The big impact is on breeding, especially for toms," Dr. Alan Krakauer, a biologist at the University of California – Davis, told Salon by email.
From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2022
Frozen inventories of whole toms, which generally weigh 16-24 pounds at the store, were down 17%.
From Reuters ● Nov. 16, 2022
As I gradually got louder, I started flicking little quick shots at the high toms.
From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick
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.
