tome

1 of 2

noun

ˈtōm

: book

especially : a large or scholarly book

: a volume forming part of a larger work

-tome

2 of 2

noun combining form

: part : segment

myotome

: cutting instrument

microtome

Example Sentences

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

The blog post where the billionaire, who goes by CZ, revealed his leadership style was part of a multi-thousand-word tome unpacking Binance’s principles.

Alena Botros, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2022 Reportedly upset with her portrayal in the tome, Walters arranged to have a portion of the book leaked to the New York Post — asking the outlet to include a psychologist evaluation of O'Donnell's mental health when covering her memoir.

Kate Hogan, Peoplemag, 11 Aug. 2022 The book, a slim 152-page tome, hasn’t been in print for years.

Julia Shumway, oregonlive, 7 Oct. 2022 The slim tome was the philosopher and statesman’s attempt to imagine an ideal world, where people lived together in peace and harmony.

Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 13 Sep. 2022 Boo is back, leading the charge with his very own tome of space critters, aptly entitled Boo's Astral Menagerie (BAM!).

Goldie Chan, Forbes, 14 Aug. 2022 Swift released the album with an accompanying tome on Aug. 23, 2019.

Tracy Wright, Fox News, 25 Aug. 2022 Officially published by Hal Leonard since 2003, the Real Book began as an unofficial tome created by a group of students at Berklee.

Crystal B. Shepeard, Billboard, 13 Sep. 2022 Even Vogue, considered by some a tome of fashion wisdom, advises that white can always be in style, even putting forth a guide to seasonally appropriate pieces in ivory and cream.

Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 13 Aug. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tome.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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

Time Traveler

The first known use of tome was in 1519

See more words from the same year