Tom Thumb

noun

1. a diminutive hero of folk tales.

2. an extremely small person; dwarf.

3. General, nickname of Charles Sherwood Stratton.

Tom Thumb

noun

1. General, stage name of Charles Stratton. 1838–83, US midget, exhibited in P. T. Barnum's circus

2. a dwarf; midget

Tom Thumb

1. A thumb-sized hero of children's stories from the sixteenth century on.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Tom Thumb¹

after Tom Thumb, the tiny hero of several English folk tales

Example Sentences

The American showman, businessman, and politician best remembered for founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus and for promoting celebrated hoaxes, such as the Feejee Mermaid, the Cardiff Giant, and Tom Thumb’s Baby.

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Tom Thumb: Most stores will have adjusted hours.

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Tomatoes such as Early Girl, Roma, Health Kick and Tom Thumb are some of the common compact tomato varieties that work well for containers, he said.

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Of all the fairy-tale references to draw from, she chooses to liken them to “Tom Thumb who, like the body of the Black boy, is caught inside a swallow cycle … over and over again.”

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Jefferson denounced Washington's speech as “shreds of stuff from Aesop’s fables and Tom Thumb. ”

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Related Words

• gnome 
• goblin 
• gremlin 
• hobgoblin 
• troll