tomgirl

noun

"tomgirl" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tomgirl” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A boy who behaves in a typically girlish manner.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tomgirl · tomgirl · English

tomgirl · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "T" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for tomgirl
PropertyValue
Headwordtomgirl
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “tomgirl” in English

tomgirlranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

tomgirl is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for tomgirl in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From tom + girl. The “girlish boy” sense was formed as an antonym of tomboy; the “boyish girl” sense is an alteration of tomboy to reinforce that the referent is a girl. The correct English form is tomgirl, spelled T-O-M-G-I-R-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A boy who behaves in a typically girlish manner.
  2. 2
    Synonym of tomboy (“girl who behaves in a typically boyish manner”).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how tomgirl appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. This tactic didn't work, so several weeks later, in a variation on a theme, I reported to two girls on the playground "I'm a tomgirl," calculating that if tomboys exist, tomgirls must also, and I must be one. That didn't work either, […]
  2. Delia says, “If you play with girls, then you are a tomgirl!”

Etymology

From tom + girl. The “girlish boy” sense was formed as an antonym of tomboy; the “boyish girl” sense is an alteration of tomboy to reinforce that the referent is a girl.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tomgirl"?
"tomgirl" is spelled T-O-M-G-I-R-L.
What does "tomgirl" mean?
As a noun, "tomgirl" means: A boy who behaves in a typically girlish manner.
What is the origin of the word "tomgirl"?
From tom + girl. The “girlish boy” sense was formed as an antonym of tomboy; the “boyish girl” sense is an alteration of tomboy to reinforce that the referent is a girl. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list