tommy
noun
tommy
1 American
[tom-ee]
/ ˈtɒm i /
noun
British.
-
tommies
plural
-
(sometimes initial capital letter) Tommy Atkins.
-
Slang. bread, especially brown bread, or rations, as formerly distributed to troops and workers.
tommy
British
/ ˈtɒmɪ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of tommy
First recorded in 1775–85; by shortening
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:
In 2012, his account tweeted "@EDLTrobinson tommy Robinson for prime minister".
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2025
When crimes involving tommy guns began making headlines, many lawmakers wanted to restrict the machine gun's use to soldiers and law enforcement.
From National Geographic ● Jun. 14, 2016
Modern-day bandits in developed countries are far likelier to use keyboards than tommy guns, remotely siphoning millions from the comfort and safety of another country.
From Forbes ● Nov. 8, 2013
After all, he said, some adjoining scenes were “kind of tommy gun heavy.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 4, 2013
The national feeling of the tommy resolves itself into this—here he is.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
Tommy refused to be upfront about why he would assume El-Sayed, of all people, would support them to begin with.
From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2026
It took two episodes to bring Tommy and Vision together, and this week’s third and fourth introduced T’Nia Miller’s Jocasta and her connection to the hero/villain synth we know and love.
From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2026
El-Sayed isn’t threatening; he doesn’t call Tommy a racist.
From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2026
Tommy Edman led off with a single, and then Betts scorched a 100.9-mph one-hopper at shortstop Cooper Pratt, who mishandled it, giving Betts a single to put two runners on.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
“Your seat is right over there at table two. You’re with Natalie, Tommy, and Ryan. Being near the windows should give you some good reading light. That’s a great book you have there, Jessica.”
From "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea
"The soldiers who once called each other Redcoats and Yankees became the Tommies and the GIs who together saved the free world," he said.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
It’s just the second season for the Tommies at the Division I level and they’re ineligible for the playoffs.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 19, 2022
The Tommies led 14-0 at halftime and added two Stephan Shagen field goals and a 1-yard Sexauer TD run in the second half.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 19, 2022
Voted out of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 2019, the Tommies in 2021 became the first Division III school to move all their sports to Division I at once.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 17, 2022
But he was in the RAF and the Tommies held him accountable.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Among the crocus, some gardeners find that Crocus tommasinianus, the so-called tommies, are less often disturbed.
From New York Times ● Jul. 15, 2020
I can never remember whether we're supposed to think the likes of our footballers would make useless tommies, or whether we're meant to sniff that that is all they really are.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 22, 2013
The predicament of Prime Minister Edward Heath's government last week recalled a World War I cartoon of two British tommies huddled miserably in a crater at the shell-scarred front.
From Time Magazine Archive
Husky, ruddy-cheeked young tommies in heavy suits and bulky sweaters, they looked like members of an oversize Rugby team.
From Time Magazine Archive
Miss Elise was heer last week and is that sweet grown that all the woonded tommies fit with pillos to see who wud propos to her.
From The Parts Men Play by Arthur Beverley Baxter
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
