Skip to main content
PlainSpell

tom

/tɑm/noun, verb

tom is spelled T-O-M: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 68 times per million words in written English, the 1,562nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tom means “The male of the domesticated cat, especially if not neutered” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tom is toms.

How many letters and syllables are in tom?

Letters3: T-O-M
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing68 times per million words; the 1,562nd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is tom?

Tom appears 68 times per million words in written English, the 1,562nd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce tom?

  • UK /tɒm/
  • US /tɑm/

Tom has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-tom.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-Tom.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with tom?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as tom from its last stressed vowel (/ɑm/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: mot.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of tom

  • toms plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • tomming participle, present
  • tommed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does tom mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    The male of the domesticated cat, especially if not neutered.

  2. 2

    The male of the turkey.

  3. 3

    The male of the orangutan.

  4. 4

    The male of certain other animals.

  5. 5

    UKdatedslangA female prostitute.

  6. 6

    USslangA lesbian.

  7. 7

    Clipping of tom-tom.

  8. 8

    obsoleteThe jack of trumps in the card game gleek.

  9. 9

    UKA tomato (the fruit).

    Toms 90p a pound

  10. 10

    slangjewellery

verb

  1. 1

    derogatoryTo act in an obsequiously servile manner toward white authority.

  2. 2

    To dig out a hole below the hatch cover of a bulker and fill it with cargo or weights to aid stability.

noun

as Tom
  1. 1

    Ellipsis of Uncle Tom.

  2. 2

    USrareA United States two-dollar bill.

  3. 3

    Synonym of menstruation.

    Sorry, maybe next week. Uncle Tom is visiting.

noun

as TOM
  1. 1

    Acronym of time of the month.

  2. 2

    Acronym of Translocon on Outer Membrane.

noun

as ToM
  1. 1

    Initialism of theory of mind.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Tom in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchmatou, chat (male cat), mâle (male of other animals)
GermanKater, Katzenmännchen, männliche Katze, Kätzerich (male cat), Männchen (male of other animals)
Portuguesegato (male cat), macho (male of other animals)
Spanishgato (male cat), macho (male of other animals), tamtan (drum type)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does tom come from?

From generic use of the proper name Tom.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after tom