TARDIS

See also: tardis and Tardis

English

The Doctor's TARDIS.

Etymology

Coined in 1963 for the British science-fiction programme Doctor Who; said to stand for "Time and Relative Dimension(s) in Space".

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtɑːdɪs/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtɑɹdɪs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Proper noun

TARDIS (plural TARDISes)

1. The time machine and spacecraft used by the Doctor in the British sci-fi television series Doctor Who, which is larger on the inside than its exterior (that of a British police box) suggests, or any of the conceptually similar time machines used by other members of the Doctor's race, the Time Lords.
   • 1986, Pip & Jane Baker, chapter 19, in The Mark of the Rani, page 129:

     'While I was in the Rani's TARDIS, I made an adjustment or two.' He chuckled, remembering the occasion.

   • 2000, Fraser A. Sherman, Cyborgs, Santa Claus, and Satan, page 57:

     The Master's essence escapes his funeral urn and lands the TARDIS in San Francisco on December 30, 1999.

   • 2004, Will Hadcroft, The Feeling's Unmutual: Growing up with Asperger Syndrome (Undiagnosed), page 16:

     I want the ground to swallow me up. I want to hide in a corner, curl up, and weep, sucking my thumb. I want the TARDIS to appear and take me away.

Derived terms

• Tardis
• TARDIS blue
• Tardis-like

Noun

TARDIS (plural TARDISes)

1. Alternative form of Tardis (something which resembles the bigger-on-the-inside time machine from the series Doctor Who).
   • 2008, in Astronomy Now, volume 22, issues 7–12, page 36:

     This unassuming Georgian terrace house, located within five minutes walk of the busy commercial and tourist heart of Bath in Somerset, is like a veritable TARDIS of astronomical history and discovery, with more to see on the inside than its [exterior suggests].

Anagrams

• Astrid, iTards, triads