tux

T1U1X8
/tʌks/

proper noun

A cuddly cartoon penguin, the official Linux mascot.

Less commonScrabble 10

Meanings

tux1

nountux (plural tuxes)

plural tuxes

  1. abbreviationclippingcolloquialClipping of tuxedo

    But in the depths of the Washington Hilton, packed with some 2,500 people, we were largely in the dark – a giant room full of reporters, clad in gowns and tuxes, eager to get the facts while trying to stay safe and obey instructions.

    2026 April 26, Linda Feldmann, “After the gunfire: Moments of grace at White House correspondents’ dinner”, in The Christian Science Monitor, Boston, Massachusetts: Christian Science Publishing Society, →ISSN, →OCLC
    1 more example

    After a load of photos and what-not, we descend the world's longest escalator, which are called that even as they de-escalate, and in we go to the main forum, a high ceilinged hall, full of circular cloth-draped, numbered tables, a stage at the front, the letters GQ, 12-foot high in neon at the back; this aside, though, neon forever the moniker of trash, this is a posh do, in an opera house full of folk in tuxes.

    2013 September 13, Russell Brand, “Russell Brand and the GQ awards: 'It's amazing how absurd it seems'”, in The Guardian

Tux2

proper noun
  1. A cuddly cartoon penguin, the official Linux mascot.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounsemiformal evening dress for men

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Coined by James Hughes as a short form of Torvalds Unix (after Linus Torvalds), perhaps also influenced by tux, referring to the tuxedo that penguins are sometimes humorously said to be wearing.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with tux

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

tux. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tux

MLA

“tux.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tux. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tux,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tux.

Source: tux on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.