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
The weapon in question was the tommy gun.
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
The Tommy and Tuppence of actors Dylan and Thomas are all about flaming youth, the evolution of their characters and the joy taken in both.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
In Barranquilla, Rubio will also discuss reconstruction after an August 10 earthquake that struck the country's coffee-growing region, killing more than 330 people, according to State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
You may have seen Elsesser’s face staring back in brand campaigns for everyone from Calvin Klein to Tommy Hilfiger or bought his signature line of Converse skate shoes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
Carlos Alcaraz continued his return from long-term injury with a hugely impressive fourth-round win against Tommy Paul at the US Open.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
“This one time, he stuffed pillows under his jersey and waddled around the dugout like Tommy Lasorda, the Dodgers manager.”
From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner
"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
Currently, the Tommies play basketball in a 1,800-seat gym.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 17, 2023
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
Husky, ruddy-cheeked young tommies in heavy suits and bulky sweaters, they looked like members of an oversize Rugby team.
From Time Magazine Archive
In the past six months Britain has doubled her troop strength in Malaysia, to some 20,000, and British tommies are doing most of the actual fighting in the bitter little war.
From Time Magazine Archive
Chisels.—Chisels of various kinds, for chipping and cross-cutting; round-nosed, centering, set punches, tommies and drifts.
From Practical Mechanics for Boys by James Slough Zerbe
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.
