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Glite Dictionary
tommy

tommy

1 9.5
A British soldier who fought in World War I or World War II
  • noun
  • /ˈtɒmi/
  • Archaic
translation icon : tommy
  • tommy gun

Examples

  • They still do, but as working languages, Tommy Atkins was the center of the stage for the history of the First World War, and the King's English was good enough for them.

  • "War means individual heroics, mostly single combat, maybe a GI with a tommy gun like gangsters used, holding off a dozen German or Japanese soldiers, or a pilot singly defeating a dozen enemy fighters.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • So, for that matter, was PFC Baylor, who, realizing he would soon be out of ammo, suddenly leaped to his feet and sprinted forward through burst after burst of enemy fire, stopping only after he had sprayed a Japanese machine gun position with his tommy gun, knocking it totally out of commission.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The brave tommy fought valiantly in the trenches during World War I.

  • Many young men enlisted as tommies to defend their country in World War II.

  • The old photograph showed a proud tommy wearing his uniform during the war.

Compounds

Tommy gun
  • Archaic
2 8.2

A short, powerful automatic gun used by soldiers and criminals in the early 1900s

Surface Forms

tommy singular
tommies plural

Etymology

Tommy comes from the old name Tommy Atkins, a simple name the British army used as an 'example' for a soldier on forms and in stories in the 1800s. That's why tommy now means a British soldier, especially one who served in World War I or World War II.