1 noun | Definition of noun

noun

noun
\ ˈnau̇n How to pronounce noun (audio) \

Definition of noun

: any member of a class of words that typically can be combined with determiners (see determiner sense b) to serve as the subject of a verb, can be interpreted as singular or plural, can be replaced with a pronoun, and refer to an entity, quality, state, action, or concept There are two nouns in this sentence.

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What is a noun?

Nouns make up the largest class of words in most languages, including English. A noun is a word that refers to a thing (book), a person (Betty Crocker), an animal (cat), a place (Omaha), a quality (softness), an idea (justice), or an action (yodeling). It's usually a single word, but not always: cake, shoes, school bus, and time and a half are all nouns.

There are a number of different categories of nouns.

There are common nouns and proper nouns. A common noun refers to a person, place, or thing but is not the name of a particular person, place, or thing. Examples are animal, sunlight, and happiness. A proper noun is the name of a particular person, place, or thing; it usually begins with a capital letter: Abraham Lincoln, Argentina, and World War I are all proper nouns.

A collective noun is a noun that names a group of people or things, such as flock or squad. It's sometimes unclear whether the verb for a collective noun should be singular or plural. In the United States, such nouns as company, team, herd, public, and class, as well as the names of companies, teams, etc., are treated as singular, but in the United Kingdom they are often treated as plural: (US) "The team has been doing well this season." vs. (British) "The team have been doing well this season."

Gerunds are nouns that are identical to the present participle (-ing form) of a verb, as in "I enjoy swimming more than running."

An attributive noun is a noun that modifies another noun that immediately follows it, such as business in business meeting. These nouns look like adjectives but they're not.

For learners of English, the most important feature of a noun is whether it can be counted. A count noun is a noun that can be used after a or an or after a number (or another word that means "more than one"). Count nouns have both singular and plural forms and can be used with both singular and plural verb forms, as with the word letter in "A letter for you is on the table. Letters for you arrive regularly." Sometimes the plural form of a count noun is the same as its singular form, as in "I saw a deer in my yard yesterday. There are a lot of deer in the woods near my house."

A mass noun (or noncount noun) refers to something that cannot be counted. Mass nouns are normally not used after the words a or an or after a number. They have only one form and are used with singular verb forms, as in "Portuguese is one of the languages they speak," and "The information was unclear."

Some nouns are not count or mass nouns. Nouns which only ever refer to one thing are called singular nouns: "Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun," "We heard a terrible din in the alley." And a plural noun refers to more than one person or thing, or sometimes to something that has two main parts. Plural nouns have only one form and are used with plural verb forms: "Townspeople are invited to a forum on the project," "These scissors are dull."

A particular noun can have any or all of these kinds of uses.

(count) I've read that book several times.

(mass) Time seemed to stop when I saw him for the first time.

(singular) The time is 3:22.

(plural) Fuel costs three times as much as it did five years ago.

Examples of noun in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The person is a noun, and a portion of their experience should be an adjective. Brianna Holt, Quartz, "Using the wrong language to describe identity does more harm than you think," 15 Aug. 2019 And that list of nouns just begins to describe the habits and inner qualities of this week’s Hillcrest-area honorees. Maria Shine Stewart, cleveland.com, "Awards galore adorn this week’s column: Sun Messages," 22 June 2019 Modern students of Latin often wrestle despondently with the language’s case system, in which the role a noun plays in a sentence is signalled by alternative endings. The Economist, "Latin is dead—yet it also lives on," 8 June 2019 Host Fallon activated a word generator to choose three random nouns, which Minaj would then have to work into a freestyle rap. Helen Murphy, PEOPLE.com, "Nicki Minaj Shows Off Her Freestyle Rap Skills, Confirms New Album on The Tonight Show," 28 June 2019 Similarly, most image datasets use English nouns as their starting point and collect data accordingly. James Vincent, The Verge, "AI is worse at identifying household items from lower-income countries," 11 June 2019 In the forty-odd years between hustle the verb and hustler the noun, old Abe begrudged an un-United States what might be its most historic event: the emancipation of 4 million slaves. Mitchell S. Jackson, Harper's magazine, "Opportunity Cost," 10 Feb. 2019 Details, such as how to define the adjectives and how to pay for what the nouns denote, were for another day. George F. Will, The Denver Post, "Will: Bernie Sanders is FDR’s unimaginative echo," 23 June 2019 Details, such as how to define the adjectives and how to pay for what the nouns denote, were for another day. George Will, Twin Cities, "George Will: Bernie Sanders is FDR’s unimaginative echo," 23 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'noun.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for noun

Middle English nowne, from Anglo-French nom, noun name, noun, from Latin nomen — more at name

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More Definitions for noun

noun

noun

English Language Learners Definition of noun

: a word that is the name of something (such as a person, animal, place, thing, quality, idea, or action) and is typically used in a sentence as subject or object of a verb or as object of a preposition

noun

noun
\ ˈnau̇n How to pronounce noun (audio) \

Kids Definition of noun

: a word or phrase that is the name of something (as a person, place, or thing) and that is used in a sentence especially as subject or object of a verb or as object of a preposition

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More from Merriam-Webster on noun

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with noun

Spanish Central: Translation of noun

Nglish: Translation of noun for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of noun for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about noun