as in proper noun
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Recent Examples of common noun
Jacob believed that the capitalization of common nouns was an inorganic import and did away with it, a choice that inspired parodies in the German press.
—
Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
But perhaps even worse is the alternate fashion of just using common nouns as names, for example, Rust, Ruby, and Scheme.
—Stephen Cass, IEEE Spectrum, 5 Sep. 2023
Surprisingly, the team’s results suggest that at least 10 to 30 quantifiably different concept variants exist for even common nouns such as penguin.
—Simon Makin, Scientific American, 25 Apr. 2023
His proper name would become a common noun, a contemptible exclamation and novel profanity.
—Jack Hitt, Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2019
His landscapes are a litany of primary colors and common nouns: blue sky, green grass.
—Garth Risk Hallberg, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2017
Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
But perhaps even worse is the alternate fashion of just using common nouns as names, for example, Rust, Ruby, and Scheme.
—Stephen Cass, IEEE Spectrum, 5 Sep. 2023
Surprisingly, the team’s results suggest that at least 10 to 30 quantifiably different concept variants exist for even common nouns such as penguin.
—Simon Makin, Scientific American, 25 Apr. 2023
His proper name would become a common noun, a contemptible exclamation and novel profanity.
—Jack Hitt, Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2019
His landscapes are a litany of primary colors and common nouns: blue sky, green grass.
—Garth Risk Hallberg, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for common noun
Noun
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According to the current contract, which runs through 2029, Fox gets to claim the first three games off the Big Ten schedule (that’s where The Game, proper noun, keeps falling).—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
25 Aug. 2025
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YouTube Golf may not be an official subsection of the platform, but the rapidly growing genre has become a proper noun among viewers.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Aug. 2025
Noun
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What’s perhaps most beautiful (in addition to learning that the collective noun for butterflies is a kaleidoscope)?—
Longreads,
Longreads,
1 Mar. 2024
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What is the collective noun for queens? Imelda Staunton's Elizabeth II is joined by younger versions of herself, played by Claire Foy and Olivia Colman, on the series finale of The Crown, which is now streaming on Netflix.—
Clark Collis,
EW.com,
14 Dec. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Common noun.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/common%20noun. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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