In Britain, a Tory politician or voter is a member of or votes for the Conservative Party.
...the former Tory Party chairman.
...the constituency with the largest Tory majority in the country.
Tory is also a noun.
The Tories have launched their election campaign.
Tory in British English
(ˈtɔːrɪ)
nounWord forms: plural-ries
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
adjective
6.
of, characteristic of, or relating to Tories
7. (sometimes not capital)
ultraconservative or reactionary
Derived forms
Toryish (ˈToryish)
adjective
Toryism (ˈToryism)
noun
Word origin
C17: from Irish tōraidhe outlaw, from Middle Irish tōir pursuit
Tory in American English
(ˈtɔri)
nounWord forms: pluralˈTories
1. [sometimest-]
a.
in the 17th cent., any of the dispossessed Irish who became outlaws, killed English settlers and soldiers, and lived by plundering
b.
later, an armed Irish Catholic or Royalist
2.
in 1679-1680, a person who opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York, from successionto the English throne
3.
after 1689, a member of one of the two major political parties of England: opposedto Whig, and later, to Liberal, Radical, Laborite; changed officially c. 1830 to Conservative
4.
in the American Revolution, a person who advocated or actively supported continued allegiance to Great Britain
5. [oftent-]
any extreme conservative; reactionary
adjective
6. [alsot-]
of, being, or having the conservative principles of a Tory
Derived forms
Toryism (ˈToryˌism)
noun
Word origin
Ir tōruidhe, robber, pursuer < tōir, to pursue; akin to Gael tōir, pursuit
-tory in American English1
suffix
a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, orig. adjectival derivatives of agent nouns ending in -tor (predatory); also forming adjectival derivatives directly from verbs (obligatory; transitory)
Word origin
[‹ L -tōrius, equiv. to -tōr--tor + -ius adj. suffix]
-tory in American English2
suffix
a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, usually derivatives from agent nouns endingin -tor or directly from verbs, denoting a place or object appropriate for the activity of the verb
dormitory
repository
Word origin
[‹ L -tōrium, n. use of neut. of -tōrius-tory1]
Examples of 'Tory' in a sentence
Tory
The first, from her Tory MP brother, Arnold, resulted in one of their usual tiffs.
Mosco, Maisie OUT OF THE ASHES (2001)
Oh yes: I was addressing a local Tory association - in Deptford.