Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Jump To:
  • Tonto
    Tonto
    noun
    a federally recognized tribe of Apache people of Arizona.
  • tonto
    tonto
    noun
    a foolish or silly person.

Tonto

1 American  
[tahn-toh] / ˈtɑn toʊ /

noun

  • Tontos
    plural
  1. a federally recognized tribe of Apache people of Arizona.

  2. the Apache language of a federally recognized tribe of Arizona.


tonto 2 American  
[tahn-toh] / ˈtɑn toʊ /

noun

  • tontos
    plural
  1. a foolish or silly person.


adjective

  1. British. foolish; strange; crazy.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


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:

The pair devised an instrument they called Tonto, a 12-foot-long collection of synthesizer modules connected by cables—“the finest of Rube Goldberg machines.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

As proposed, the mine would turn Oak Flat — a long-preserved site of rocky outcroppings and desert waterways on the edge of the Tonto National Forest — into a nearly two-mile-wide, 1,000-foot-deep industrial crater.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2025

The environmental analysis will have to be republished before a swap of the Tonto National Forest land can go forward.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 20, 2023

“Given current drought conditions and the ‘very high’ fire danger level, it is too risky for these activities,” said Taiga Rohrer, fire management officer for the Tonto National Forest.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 30, 2022

When The Lone Ranger came to television, she would watch it just to see Jay Silverheels, the actor who played Tonto.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers

The event is so important in the family’s routine that they can’t imagine a time when there would no tonto to sell.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 1, 2024

And because tonto production takes place outside official purview, authorities are unable to collect revenue from its sale.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 1, 2024

This is partly because the retail price of tonto has been largely static over the decades, while the process of brewing it has become more cumbersome.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 1, 2024

"I certainly think he has gone full tonto," Wallace said.

From Reuters ● Feb. 25, 2022

The granite, when it attains its highest point, is covered with a 200-foot layer of sedimentary rock called the tonto sandstone.

From Through the Grand Canyon from Wyoming to Mexico by E. L. (Ellsworth Leonardson) Kolb

The Comanches feather their arrows with two feathers; the Navajos, Utes and all Apaches, except the Tontos, have three feathers--the Tontos using four feathers for each shaft.

From My Native Land The United States: its Wonders, its Beauties, and its People; with Descriptive Notes, Character Sketches, Folk Lore, Traditions, Legends and History, for the Amusement of the Old and the Instruction of the Young by James Cox

I tell you, Harry, if the old man were trying to steer clear of all possibility of finding these Tontos, he couldn't have followed a better track than ours has been.

From Starlight Ranch and Other Stories of Army Life on the Frontier by Charles King

Strong scouting-parties had gone thitherward, too, for "the Chief" was bound to bring these Tontos to terms; but our orders were explicit: "Thoroughly scout the east face of the Matitzal."

From Starlight Ranch and Other Stories of Army Life on the Frontier by Charles King

The renegades of northern Arizona in the earliest of the seventies were mainly Tontos, but many a young brave of the Apache Mohave tribe had cast his lot with them.

From Tonio, Son of the Sierras A Story of the Apache War by Charles J. Post

Could he mean that they who killed Bennett were hostile Tontos, and that these who bore the poor widowed creature were of the Mohave blood?

From Tonio, Son of the Sierras A Story of the Apache War by Charles J. Post

I started up, willing to observe whatever might be visible, or have the satisfaction of showing them what tontos they were.

From Mexico Its Ancient and Modern Civilisation, History, Political Conditions, Topography, Natural Resources, Industries and General Development by Martin Hume

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember new words for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com