tom-tom
noun, verb
tom-tom is spelled T-O-M-T-O-M: 6 letters. As a noun, tom-tom means “A small drum, often one of a joined pair, beaten with the hands, frequently associated with tribal cultures” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tom-tom is tom-toms.
How many letters and syllables are in tom-tom?
| Letters | 6: T-O-M-T-O-M |
|---|---|
| In writing | a phrase: the frequency list counts single words |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
Words people confuse with tom-tom
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: tam-tam, tomtom (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of tom-tom
- tom-toms plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- tom-tomming participle, present
- tom-tommed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tom-tom mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A small drum, often one of a joined pair, beaten with the hands, frequently associated with tribal cultures.
- 2
Any cylindrical drum, with no snare; part of a drum kit.
- 3
Alternative form of tam-tam (“a kind of flat gong”).
verb
- 1
To play the tom-toms.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does tom-tom come from?
From Hindi टमटम (ṭamṭam, “the sound of a drum”), and similar terms in related or nearby languages (as Punjabi ਟਮ ਟਮ (ṭam ṭam), Gujarati ટમટમ (ṭamṭam), Bengali টমটম (ṭomṭom), Sinhalese ටම් ටම් (ṭam ṭam), Tamil தம் தம் (tam tam), Malayalam തം തം (taṁ taṁ), Tibetan ཐོམ ཐོམ (thom thom)); ultimately of onomatopoeic origin, with reduplication. Early evidence is from Anglo-Indian sources.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).