noun, verb, slang ·2 syllables ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A tom (male cat).
2. 2
   male cat wordnet
3. 3
   A promiscuous man. informal
4. 4
   An insect of the order Coleoptera referring to certain species of rove beetles, particularly in the genus Paederus. Known for secreting a potent irritant, pederin, which can cause severe skin irritation and blistering when contacted.

Verb

1. 1
   To prowl for sexual gratification. informal

   "He would not go roaming the streets tom-catting like Mr Schick."

Synonyms

All synonyms

tomalley catbenedickbillybilly goatblue cat

Antonyms

All antonyms

she catshe-cat

Example

More examples

"Tom is the name of my black tomcat."

Etymology

From Tom + cat, popularised by The Life and Adventures of a Cat (1760), by an anonymous author, in which the male cat was called Tom.

Related phrases

tomcat aroundtom cat

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.