Word of the Day – Womble

Womble (noun) (British)

wom-bl

A fictional animal inhabiting Wimbledon Common in London, characterized as clearing up litter.

1960s from Wombledon Common, representing a child’s pronunciation of Wimbledon; the creatures first appeared in a series of children’s books (1968–76) by Elisabeth Beresford (1926–2010) and were popularized by a television series (1973–5).

Example sentences

“We could do a lot worse than to style our behaviour on Wombles, who are a kind, helpful bunch.”