tom
tom Lexical Profile
tom Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A male domestic cat (Felis catus), especially one that is adult and unneutered.
"A stray ginger tom wandered into our garden and sunned himself on the stone wall."
North American An adult male turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), distinguished by its larger size, fan-shaped tail display, and prominent fleshy wattle and snood.
"The wild tom fanned his tail feathers and strutted across the forest clearing."
A cylindrical, snareless drum (tom-tom) that forms part of a standard modern drum kit, typically mounted above the bass drum or supported on legs.
"The drummer tuned the rack tom before the band began their soundcheck."
• Rhymes for tom
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived as a generic lowercase noun from 'Tom', the traditional pet form of the masculine given name Thomas. Its use for a male cat was popularized in English by the anonymous 1760 book 'The Life and Adventures of a Cat', whose protagonist was named Tom the Cat.