This document defines and provides examples of the noun in the English language. It begins by defining a noun as a word that can serve as the subject of a verb and can be singular or plural. It then provides several categories of nouns: - Common nouns vs proper nouns - Collective nouns - Gerunds - Attributive nouns It discusses whether a noun can be counted or not, including count nouns, mass nouns, singular nouns and plural nouns. It provides examples of how nouns can be used in sentences. In summary, the document comprehensively defines nouns and their various types and uses in the English language.

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ˈnau̇n
Definitionof noun
: any memberof a classof wordsthat typicallycanbe combinedwithdeterminers(seeDETERMINER
sense b) to serve asthe subjectof a verb,can be interpretedassingularorplural,can be replacedwitha
pronoun,andreferto an entity,quality,state,action,orconcept
There are twonounsinthissentence.
What isa noun?
More Example Sentences
PhrasesContainingnoun
Learn More Aboutnoun
What isa noun?
Nounsmake upthe largestclassof wordsin mostlanguages,includingEnglish.A nounisa wordthat
referstoa thing(book),aperson(BettyCrocker),ananimal (cat),aplace (Omaha),a quality(softness),
an idea(justice),oran action(yodeling).It'susuallyasingle word,but notalways:cake,shoes,school
bus,and time anda half are all nouns.
There are a numberof differentcategoriesof nouns.
There are commonnounsandproper nouns.A commonnounrefersto a person,place,orthingbut is
not the name of a particularperson,place,orthing.Examplesare animal,sunlight,andhappiness.A
propernounis the name of a particularperson,place,orthing;itusuallybeginswithacapital letter:
AbrahamLincoln,Argentina,andWorldWarI are all propernouns.
A collective nounisanounthat namesa groupof people orthings,suchasflockor squad.It's
sometimesunclearwhetherthe verbfora collectivenounshouldbe singularorplural.Inthe United
States,suchnounsas company,team,herd,public,andclass,as well asthe namesof companies,teams,

3. etc.,are treatedas singular,butinthe UnitedKingdomtheyare oftentreatedasplural:(US) "The team
has beendoingwell thisseason."vs.(British) "The teamhave beendoingwellthisseason."
Gerundsare nounsthat are identical tothe presentparticiple(-ingform) of averb,as in"I enjoy
swimmingmore thanrunning."
An attributive nounisanounthat modifiesanothernounthatimmediatelyfollowsit,suchas businessin
businessmeeting.These nounslooklike adjectivesbutthey're not.
For learnersof English,the mostimportantfeature of anouniswhetheritcan be counted.A count noun
isa nounthat can be usedaftera or an or aftera number(oranotherwordthat means"more than
one").Countnounshave bothsingularandplural formsandcan be usedwithbothsingularandplural
verbforms,as withthe wordletterin"A letterforyouison the table.Lettersforyou arrive regularly."
Sometimesthe plural formof acount nounisthe same as itssingularform, asin "I saw a deerinmy
yard yesterday.There are alot of deerinthe woodsnear myhouse."
A massnoun (ornoncountnoun) referstosomethingthatcannotbe counted.Mass nounsare normally
not usedafterthe wordsa or an or aftera number.They have onlyone formand are usedwithsingular
verbforms,as in"Portuguese isone of the languagestheyspeak,"and"The informationwasunclear."
Some nounsare notcount or massnouns.Nounswhichonlyeverrefertoone thingare calledsingular
nouns:"Saturnis the sixthplanetfromthe sun,""We hearda terrible dininthe alley."Andaplural noun
referstomore thanone personor thing,or sometimestosomethingthathastwomainparts. Plural
nounshave onlyone formand are usedwithplural verb forms:"Townspeople are invitedtoaforum on
the project,""These scissorsare dull."
A particularnouncan have any or all of these kindsof uses.
(count) I've readthat bookseveral times.
(mass) Time seemedtostopwhenIsawhimfor the first time.

4. (singular) The time is3:22.
(plural) Fuel coststhree timesasmuchasit didfive yearsago.
Examplesof nounina Sentence
RecentExamplesonthe Web
There isevena funnybutmeancollective nounforthem:aconsternationof mothers-in-law.
— BethThames| Bethmthames@gmail.com, al,4May 2022
Halachah isnot a nounbut a verb,a pathwayto infuse all ouractionswithkedushah –observingnot
onlythe letterof the lawbut the holyhigherpurpose of the law.
— Rabbi Avi Weiss,SunSentinel,2May 2022
Cliché isa nounand itsadjective formhastraditionallybeenclichéd,thoughtodaycliché itself isoften
usedas an adjective too.
— MelissaMohr,The ChristianScience Monitor,21Feb.2022
See More
These example sentencesare selectedautomaticallyfromvariousonline newssourcestoreflectcurrent
usage of the word'noun.' Viewsexpressedinthe examplesdonotrepresentthe opinionof Merriam-
Websteror itseditors.Sendusfeedback.
PhrasesContainingnoun
collective noun
commonnoun
count noun
mass noun
noncountnoun
nounphrase

5. propernoun
verbal noun
FirstKnownUse of noun
14th century,inthe meaningdefinedabove
Historyand Etymologyfornoun
Middle Englishnowne,fromAnglo-Frenchnom, nounname,noun,fromLatinnomen — more at NAME
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Time Travelerfornoun
The firstknownuse of nounwasin the 14th century
See more wordsfromthe same century
From the Editorsat Merriam-Webster
yodel
8 Grammar TermsYou Used to Know,ButForgot
Plusyodeling
imaginary

6. AdjectivesthatLookLike Nouns
There isa ruthlessefficiencyinthe editingof dictionaries
singlesbar
NounsThat LookLike Adjectives
Can a nounreallydescribe anothernoun?
DictionaryEntriesNearnoun
noumenon
noun
nounal
See More NearbyEntries
Statisticsfornoun
Last Updated
15 May 2022
Look-upPopularity
Top 1% of words
Cite thisEntry

7. “Noun.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/noun.Accessed23May. 2022.
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nounnoun
ˈnau̇n
KidsDefinitionof noun
: a wordor phrase that isthe name of something(asa person,place,orthing) andthat isusedina
sentence especiallyassubjectorobjectof a verbor as objectof a preposition
More fromMerriam-Websteronnoun
Nglish:Translationof nounforSpanishSpeakers
BritannicaEnglish:Translationof nounforArabicSpeakers
Britannica.com:Encyclopediaarticle aboutnoun
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