proper noun

noun

plural proper nouns

: a noun (such as Seattle, Joyce, or Empire State Building) that designates a particular being or thing, does not take a limiting modifier, and is usually capitalized in English

called also proper name

I think I can safely say that no rational person is hubristic enough to type "Zbigniew Brzezinski" … without first checking the spelling of the name, but the number of less formidable-looking proper nouns that wind up misspelled in manuscripts … is vast.

—Benjamin Dreyer

Examples of proper noun in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Familiar proper nouns — Fuddruckers, Burger King, Coconut Grove, Sushi Sake — pack this week’s list of South Florida restaurants closed by inspection. —David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 22 Jan. 2026

In Wikipedia, the word is capped as a proper noun, but the Washington Post lowercases it in most uses. —Louis Menand, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025

Taylor is investigating a Santa cookie at the Clotz Cookie Factory (one of several proper nouns in this film that have no discernible origin) and looks disappointed. —Rachel Handler, Vulture, 9 Dec. 2025

But the proper noun only came along relatively recently. —Rachel Treisman, NPR, 19 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for proper noun

• chinatown
• tumbledown
• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown

Kids Definition

proper noun

noun

: a noun that names a particular person, place, or thing