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• Tory
  Tory

  noun

  a member of the Conservative Party in Great Britain or Canada.
• -tory
  -tory

  a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, originally adjectival derivatives of agent nouns ending in -tor (predatory ); also forming adjectival derivatives directly from verbs (obligatory; transitory ).

Tory

¹ American  

[tawr-ee, tohr-ee] / ˈtɔr i, ˈtoʊr i /

noun

• Tories
  plural

1. a member of the Conservative Party in Great Britain or Canada.

2. a member of a political party in Great Britain from the late 17th century to about 1832 that favored royal authority over Parliament and the preservation of the existing social and political order: succeeded by the Conservative party.

3. (often lowercase) an advocate of conservative principles; one opposed to reform or radicalism.

4. a person who supported the British cause in the American Revolution; a loyalist.

5. (in the 17th century) a dispossessed Irishman who resorted to banditry, especially after the invasion of Oliver Cromwell and suppression of the royalist cause (1649–52).

6. a male or female given name.

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adjective

1. of, belonging to, or characteristic of the Tories.

2. being a Tory.

3. (sometimes lowercase) opposed to reform or radicalism; conservative.

-tory ² American  

1. a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, originally adjectival derivatives of agent nouns ending in -tor (predatory ); also forming adjectival derivatives directly from verbs (obligatory; transitory ).

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-tory ³ American  

1. a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, usually derivatives from agent nouns ending in -tor or directly from verbs, denoting a place or object appropriate for the activity of the verb: dormitory; repository .

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Tory British  

/ ˈtɔːrɪ /

noun

1. a member or supporter of the Conservative Party in Great Britain or Canada

2. a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s

3. an American supporter of the British cause; loyalist Compare Whig

4. (sometimes not capital) an ultraconservative or reactionary

5. (in the 17th century) an Irish Roman Catholic, esp an outlaw who preyed upon English settlers

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adjective

1. of, characteristic of, or relating to Tories

2. (sometimes not capital) ultraconservative or reactionary

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Toryism
  noun
• Toryish
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Tories
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of Tory¹

1640–50; < Irish *tóraighe outlaw, bandit, derivative of tóir chase, pursuit

Origin of -tory²

< Latin -tōrius, equivalent to -tōr- -tor + -ius adj. suffix

Origin of -tory³

< Latin -tōrium, noun use of neuter of -tōrius -tory ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Tory Tories

A picture of Kemi Badenoch behind DJ decks at the Tory conference is splashed across the front page of the Daily Telegraph.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

BBC News speaks to young Tory members about who they would vote for if their party didn't exist.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay praised the "extraordinary bravery" of survivors but urged ministers to strengthen bail laws and "robustly enforce breaches".

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

David Cameron said he'd end "Punch and Judy politics" when he became Tory leader only to find himself in regular political knockabouts across the despatch box.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

“Father, why can’t I carry messages for Mr. Heron? You’re on the Tory side, too.”

From "My Brother Sam is Dead" by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

She told BBC Newsnight the proposed 94% hike in Wandsworth, a south-west London borough run by the Tories, was "outrageous".

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Montgomerie defected from the Tories 18 months ago but was suspended from Reform UK last month after he criticised senior figures.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

The politician became a household name in the 1990s due to her socially conservative views that put her on the right of the Tories.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

You can’t entirely blame him: It was he, after all, who led Labour to its historic July 2024 victory over Sunak and the Tories, winning 411 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons.

From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026

Patriots called them Tories, an old British word for supporters of royal power.

From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen

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Related Words

• archconservative
• counterrevolutionary
• regressive
• rightist
• ultraconservative

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