To save this word, you'll need to log in.
Definition of nonce word
: a word (as ringday in “four girls I know have become engaged today: this must be ringday”) coined and used apparently to suit one particular occasion sometimes independently by different writers or speakers but not adopted into use generally
Coleridge coined mammonolatry in 1820 as a nonce word I still think I heard it, though so seldom that it had more or less the air of a nonce word— S. T. Byington
Comments on nonce word
What made you want to look up nonce word? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Intact Latin Quiz
- What did focus mean in Latin?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
- Intact Latin Quiz
What did each of these words mean to ancient Romans?
Take the quiz - The Eponym Quiz
Do you know these words that come from names?
Take the quiz - Spell It
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
Take the quiz - Citation
Do you know the person or title these quotes describe?
Play the game
Share nonce word