noun · verb · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:[ˈthæmpɒn]
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:[ˈthæmpɑn]
rhymes with -æmpɑn
CMU ARPABET:T AE1 M P AA0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A plug of cotton or other absorbent material inserted into a body cavity or wound to absorb fluid, especially one inserted in the vagina during menstruation.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A double-headed drumstick primarily for the bass drum.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
An inking pad used in lithographic printing.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
verb
Meaning 4
To plug (a wound) with a tampon or compress.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Topics: medicine, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
plug of cotton or other absorbent material; inserted into wound or body cavity to absorb exuded fluids (especially blood)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: plug, stopper, stopple
Narrower terms: Tampax
6
verb
Meaning 6
plug with a tampon
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: plug, stop up, secure
History
Etymology
First attested in 1848. Borrowed from French tampon, from Middle French tampon, a nasalised variant of tapon, a diminutive or augmented form of Old French tape (“plug, bung, tap”), from Frankish *tappō (“stopper, plug”), from Proto-Germanic *tappô (“plug, tap”). Cognate with Old High German zapfo (“stopper”), Old English tæppa (“stopper”). Doublet of tampion. More at tap.
Across languages
Translations
76 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
tampon
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Arabic:
سِدَادَة
(sidāda)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Arabic:
سِدَادَة قُطْنِيَّة
(sidāda quṭniyya)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Arabic:
تامْپون
(tampon)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Armenian:
տամպոն
(tampon)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Azerbaijani:
tampon
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Basque:
tapoi
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Belarusian:
тампо́н
(tampón)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Bulgarian:
тампо́н
(tampón)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Chinese Mandarin:
棉塞
(miánsāi)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Chinese Mandarin:
止血塞
(zhǐxuè sāi)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Chinese Mandarin:
衛生栓 /卫生栓
(wèishēng shuān)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Chinese Mandarin:
棉條 /棉条
(miántiáo)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Czech:
tampón
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Danish:
tampon
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Dutch:
tampon
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Estonian:
tampoon
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Faroese:
mánasjúkutvørri
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Finnish:
tamponi
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Finnish:
haavaside
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
French:
tampon
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Georgian:
ტამპონი
(ṭamṗoni)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
German:
Tampon
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Greek:
ταμπόν
(tampón)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Ancient Greek:
μοτός
(motós)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Ancient Greek:
μοτάριον
(motárion)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Hebrew:
טַמְפּוֹן
(tampón)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Hindi:
तंपन
(tampan)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Hungarian:
tampon
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Icelandic:
tíðatappi
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Icelandic:
túrtappi
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Indonesian:
tampon
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Italian:
tampone
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Italian:
assorbente interno
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Italian:
stuello
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Japanese:
タンポン
(tanpon)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Kazakh:
тығын
(tyğyn)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Kazakh:
тампон
(tampon)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Korean:
탐폰
(tampon)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Kyrgyz:
тампон
(tampon)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Latvian:
tampons
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Lithuanian:
tamponas
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Macedonian:
тампо́н
(tampón)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Malay:
tampon
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Māori:
puru taiawa
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Norwegian Bokmål:
tampong
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Persian:
تامپون
(tâmpon)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Polish:
tampon
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Portuguese:
absorvente interno
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Portuguese:
tampão
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Romanian:
tampon
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Russian:
тампо́н
(tampón)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Russian:
заты́чка
(zatýčka)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Serbo-Croatian:
та̀мпо̄н
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Serbo-Croatian:
tàmpōn
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Slovak:
tampón
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Slovene:
tampon
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Spanish:
tampón
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Spanish:
támpax
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Swedish:
tampong
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Tajik:
тампон
(tampon)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Tajik:
латта
(latta)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Tajik:
дока
(doka)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Thai:
แทมพอน
(tɛm-pɔ̂n)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Thai:
ผ้าอนามัย
(pâa-à-naa-mai)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Thai:
ผ้าอนามัยแบบสอด
(pâa-à-naa-mai bɛ̀ɛp sɔ̀ɔt)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Turkish:
tampon
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Ukrainian:
тампо́н
(tampón)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Uzbek:
tampon
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Vietnamese:
tăm-bông
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Vietnamese:
nút gạc
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
Yiddish:
טאַמפּאָן
(tampon)
— a plug of cotton or other absorbent material
