Meaning

(rare or dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) Empty; bare..

Definitions by Sense

1. (rare or dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) Empty; bare.
2. (chiefly Scottish) A piece of waste ground where rubbish is deposited.
3. (rare or dialectal) To empty; teem.
4. Vacant time, leisure.

Example Sentences

Gin she was toom afore, she's toomer now, Her heart was like to loup out at her mou'.

Then hie to the Custom House, add to your pleasures, Now you're well cover'd, so toom the new measures: It ne'er will be finish'd, I'll wager a groat, Till they've cut a canal te admit five-men boats!

Every time Gavin's cup went to his lips Nanny calculated (correctly) how much he had drunk, and yet, when the right moment arrived, she asked in the English voice that is fashionable at ceremonies, "if his cup was toom."

"You saw it was toom. The lamp had gone out itself, or else — what's that?"

It seemed to him that his soul had gone from him, and he was as toom as a hazel shell.

Bare is much better. 'When she got there, the cupboard was bare' does call up the distress of those with naked larders. 'The cupboard was empty' would not be poignant at all. But 'the cupboard was toom' would utter the voice of real despair.

His tabard was 'toom' — bare or empty — and Balliol, the unmade king, became 'Toom Tabard'.

He had exhausted Bath, but his connections and introductions made the transition easy. There was toom for two in the capital.

Word Forms

• more toom
• most toom
• tooms
• tooming
• toomed

Synonyms for toom

Related Words

When Should You Use Toom?

Use toom when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

Practice This Word

Frequently Asked Questions