Meanings
tamboo1
nountamboo (plural tamboos)
plural tamboos
- historicalslanggovernmentA temporary shelter used by soldiers during the First World War.
We live in tamboos – a sort of cross between a cowshed and an outdoor privy.
1995, Pat Barker, The Ghost Road (The Regeneration Trilogy), Penguin, published 2014, page 8041 more example
My servant & I ate the chocolate in the cold middle of last night, crouched under a draughty Tamboo, roofed with planks.
1918 October 31, Wilfred Owen, Letter to his mother, Susan Owen
tamboo2
adjectivetamboo (not comparable)
- alternativenot comparableAlternative form of taboo (“culturally forbidden”).
Origin
- Hindiतंबू
- Persianتنبو
- Englishtamboo
Ultimately from Persian تنبو (tanbu), either directly or via Hindi तंबू (tambū).
More words from Persian, Hindi
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
tamboo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tamboo
MLA
“tamboo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tamboo. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tamboo,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tamboo.
Source: tamboo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.