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

In June, Christie’s will auction off astronomical tomes from the collection of Jay M. Pasachoff. —Tori Latham, Robb Report, 11 Apr. 2024

Its massive vault door is still there as part of the gift shop which has an enormous selection of fine architectural tomes. —John Oseid, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024

Colleen Hoover and Stephen King have sold millions of books, but neither has ever used one of their tomes as a weapon in a pro wrestling match. —Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 26 Mar. 2024

Buy on Amazon Mastering The Art Of Southern Cooking The Southern equal to Julia Child's masterpiece, this tome by Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart touches on nearly every aspect of classic Southern cooking through 600 recipes. —Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 14 Dec. 2023

Indeed, several books from a special $360 Flamingo Estate collection, which include life-improvement tomes by Alice Waters, Michael Pollan and Jane Goodall, appear in the background of a 2022 clip of Harry promoting a New Zealand eco-travel project from his study. —Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2024

Gloria, who discovered the sinister metaphysics of the imaginary-friend world back then, has written a historical tome about the subject. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 8 Mar. 2024

Just in time for the theatrical premiere of Dune: Part Two, publisher Insight Editions is dropping a stunning hardcover tome that details the making of director Denis Villeneuve’s new film. —Tim Chan, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2024

Bound by award-winning artist Kate Holland, the stylish tome features a black goatskin cover that shows a 1950s map of the Big Apple. —Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 12 Mar. 2024

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

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Kids Definition

tome

noun

ˈtōm 

: a big thick book