noun phrase

noun

often capitalized N&P

: a phrase formed by a noun and all its modifiers and determiners

broadly : any syntactic element (such as a clause, clitic, pronoun, or zero element) with a noun's function (such as the subject of a verb or the object of a verb or preposition)

—abbreviation NP

Examples of noun phrase in a Sentence

In the sentence “I found the owner of the dog,” “the owner of the dog” is a noun phrase.

Recent Examples on the Web The first phrase is an appositive—typically a noun or noun phrase that modifies another noun or noun phrase, which appears next to it in the sentence. —

David Owen, The New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2023 Meanwhile, a two-year-old child tested alongside Kanzi quickly intuits that two nouns can make up a noun phrase, tucked as a direct object into a verb phrase, which in turn is part of a sentence. —

The Economist, 22 Aug. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'noun phrase.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.