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
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
Thiessen adds an order of tom kha, her favorite soup.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2023
He had on the same tom and oversized black high-top Keds he always wore.
From "Mississippi Trial, 1955" by Chris Crowe
Welsh singer Cate McHugh was crowned the winner of the show on Saturday, after being mentored by "the legend that is Sir Tom Jones".
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
Does anyone know if Tom Brady likes pit beef and/or crab cakes?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
The entrance of the dingy space includes a display of “Faces of South Texas,” which includes Selena, Nolan Ryan, Tom Landry, and some war heroes.
From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026
Tom Hanks reprised his role as David S. Pumpkins in the Oct.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026
It seemed like the end of the Tom conversation, so Coal began to eat.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
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
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
