noun

noun

ˈnau̇n 

: 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 (Noah Webster), 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

Distinct vocal mannerism: Replaces most other consonants with b or d or mn while alternating between plural and singular nouns for no reason. —Kate Lindsay, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2023

Crew is a noun that means a group of people who row together: a rowing team. —John Kelly, Washington Post, 29 Oct. 2023

But maybe foregrounding scroll’s past life as a noun is a reminder that this is also an active and emotional practice, a desire to face the onrush of catastrophe and to witness history. —WIRED, 19 Sep. 2023

Each line of a headline should be able to stand alone as a single thought, meaning any line other than the final one should generally end with a noun or an action verb. —Sarah Bahr, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2023

In the 19th century, an American grammarian, Richard Grant White, noticed the difference and proclaimed that loan was a noun and should only be used as such. —John McIntyre, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Aug. 2023

At the federal level, page 95 of the style manual of the Government Printing Office lists the demonym for each state, a demonym being a noun used to encompass the residents of a particular place. —Detroit Free Press, 12 Aug. 2023

Walzer believes that everyone should be liberal, whatever his noun or nouns are. —Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 7 June 2023

Just as toddlers develop a deep knowledge of different classes of words without being taught what a noun or a verb is, crossword solvers develop strong intuitions about what entries are possible and how they can be clued. —Scott Anderbois, The Atlantic, 6 Aug. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing noun

• collective noun
• proper noun
• common noun
• count noun
• mass noun
• verbal noun
• noun phrase
• noncount noun

• collective noun
• proper noun
• common noun
• count noun
• mass noun
• verbal noun
• noun phrase
• noncount noun

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Kids Definition

noun

noun

ˈnau̇n 

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