tom1
/tɒm
/noun
1The male of various animals, especially a domestic cat.While hens usually travel together, toms roam either in separate flocks or alone....
- The kittens would follow the tom around and when we trapped the last one of them he cried at our door for two days.
- I donate financially, and have purchased two rescued cats (one adult tom, and one kitten) from you.
2British informal A female prostitute.
Early 20th century: from criminals' slang
3 (Tom) US informal short for Uncle Tom.
verb (toms, tomming, tommed) [no object] informal
1 (be tomming) British Work as a prostitute: Roscoe is tomming around now...
- I took off my headphones and listened as he asked, ‘Are you tomming tonight?’
2US (Of a black person) behave in an excessively obedient or servile way: it was insulting to hold out my hand and have a clerk bang the money down—I’d tommed again
Origin
Late Middle English (denoting an ordinary man, surviving in tomfool, tomboy, and the phrase Tom, Dick, and Harry): abbreviation of the given name Thomas. sense 1 of the noun dates from the mid 18th century.
Rhymes
tom2
/tɒm/noun (usually toms) informal
Short for tomato.There's only one thing that will revive the toms, courgettes, rocket, spinach and fennel - pelletised chicken manure....
- Liquidise ripe toms with red onion, cucumber, red pepper, extra virgin olive oil, sherry or balsamic vinegar and chill to let the flavours develop.
- A topping of onion marmalade, reasonable toms and fresh, herby ricotta couldn't rescue it.