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.

Did you know?

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.

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

What does supporting a sports team have to do with the underground parts of plants, fundamental causes, poking around, or any of the other things the word root can mean, as a noun or verb? —Melissa Mohr, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Feb. 2023

None this existed before David Cameron pledged to hold a simple in/out referendum on the noun/verb/abbrev. known as Brexit in 2015. —William Booth, Washington Post, 17 Feb. 2023

Tucking the disability behind the noun may contribute to stigma rather than reduce it. —Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 1 Feb. 2013

Of unknown origin but dating from the 15th century, today's verb or noun has five letters. ? ... ? ... ? ... ? ... ? —Celia Storey, Arkansas Online, 31 Oct. 2022

Duranies — the enduring collective noun for Duran Duran fans — had hoped for an on-stage reunion with Taylor and his former bandmates, the first in 17 years. —Lars Brandle, Billboard, 13 Jan. 2023

Far more important to the producers and their studio, if such an antiquated noun can be attached to Netflix, will be whether the ‘Live To Lead’ epsiodes will gain any audience traction. —Guy Martin, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2022

This is one of the rare big-brained small words that work equally well as a noun, a verb and an adjective. —Damon Young, Washington Post, 19 Oct. 2022

And Christiana Figueres, the former U.N. climate secretary who helped forge the 2015 Paris agreement and then started a non-profit called Climate Optimism, sees hope not as a noun but an action verb. —Seth Borenstein, ajc, 19 Nov. 2022

See More

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

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

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

See More

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