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Glite Dictionary
🐈 A male cat 🦃 A male turkey 🙇 To act servile
to tom

to tom

9.9
To act too eager to please someone to gain an advantage
  • verb
  • Offensive
: hacer la pelota
  • You don't have to tom just to impress your boss.

Examples

  • She felt embarrassed when he started to tom in front of everyone.

  • He always tries to tom to get a promotion at work.

  • He went Tom, we can't do it lively.

Synonyms

to toady
vsto tom
2 9.1

Flatter and obey someone in power to get their favor

is slang, rare, and offensive rather than a neutral standard term

Compounds

Peeping Tom
  • NSFW
17 9.9

A person who secretly watches people, usually through windows, for sexual reasons

tom-tom
4 8.1

A round drum played in drum kits or at ceremonies

Tom Collins
2 4.6

A tall cold drink made with gin, lemon juice, sugar, and fizzy water served over ice

tom turkey
1 9.9

A male turkey

Tom Thumb
1 9.3

A very small person used as a playful name

long tom
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A large gun on a ship with a long barrel used in sea battles

Tom and Jerry
  • US
9.9

A warm drink that has rum, brandy, sugar, and a beaten egg, often served at Christmas

How Servile

to kowtow
12 9.2
to tom
  • Offensive
9.9
to grovel
42 7.4
to fawn
20 7.7
to flatter
48 3.6

Surface Forms

tom infinitive
tomed past
tomed past participle
toming present participle
toms third person singular

Etymology

Tom as a rare slang verb may come from using the name Tom for a man who tries too hard to please others, so a helpful way to remember it is to imagine a 'Tom' flattering his boss. That's why to tom means 'to act too eager to please'.