tome

1 of 2

noun

ˈtōm 

1

: book

especially : a large or scholarly book

2

: a volume forming part of a larger work

-tome

2 of 2

noun combining form

1

: part : segment

myotome

2

: cutting instrument

microtome

Synonyms

Noun

• book
• volume

Examples of tome in a Sentence

Noun

a long tome on European history

picked up a thick tome on the Roman Empire at a used book store

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

He was widely regarded as a titan of theological writing and, as pope, wrote tome after tome of commentaries using pencil and paper at his desk in the Vatican apartments or his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo. —Timothy Nerozzi, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025

And then these tomes would arrive, these ancient books. —Kathryn Shattuck, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2025

The problem is that many younger Jews are learning from these works on the internet, not from the yellowing tomes of their forebears. —Lois K. Solomon, Sun Sentinel, 28 Jan. 2025

The popular tome spent 13 straight weeks on the NY Times bestsellers list and debuted at No. 1 on Amazon, according to the streamer. —Jessica Bennett, VIBE.com, 13 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin tomus, from Greek tomos section, roll of papyrus, tome, from temnein to cut; akin to Middle Irish tamnaid he lops, Polish ciąć to cut, and perhaps to Latin tondēre to shear

Noun combining form

Greek tomos

First Known Use

Noun

1519, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for tome

• brome
• chrome
• comb
• combe
• crome
• dome
• acrosome
• aerodrome
• catacomb
• centrosome
• chromosome
• cytochrome

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Kids Definition

tome

noun

ˈtōm 

: a big thick book