noun

noun — noun

1. A type of word that gives a name to a person (doctor, Brian), a place (Taipei, r

1.nounA1
Definition

A type of word that gives a name to a person (doctor, Brian), a place (Taipei, river), a physical object (table, cloud), a quality or feeling (honesty, joy), or an activity (swimming, reading).

Example

The teacher asked Talia to list three nouns she could see in the room.

common classroom exercise: listing visible nouns

Élise learned that 'courage' is a noun even though she cannot touch or see it.

abstract vs concrete nouns

Common collocations
  • common noun
  • proper noun
  • abstract noun
  • concrete noun
  • countable noun
  • uncountable noun
Synonyms
  • naming word

    simpler term used with beginner learners; less formal than 'noun'

  • substantive

    older, technical term used in traditional grammar; now rare in everyday teaching

Common Mistakes

All nouns name things I can touch.
Words like "dream," "freedom," and "sadness" are nouns even though they name things you cannot touch.
Abstract nouns name ideas, feelings, and qualities.
The word "run" is always a noun.
The word "run" can be a noun, but in "I run every day" it is a verb.
Many English words belong to more than one word class.

2. A word class whose members fill key sentence positions: doing the action named b

2.nounA2
Definition

A word class whose members fill key sentence positions: doing the action named by the verb (subject), receiving that action (object), coming after a linking word like 'in' or 'on' (prepositional complement), or standing next to another noun to rename it (apposition).

Example

In 'The cat chased the mouse,' both 'cat' and 'mouse' are nouns — subject and object.

subject and object positions in a sentence

Hui saw that after the word 'under' comes the noun 'table' in 'under the table.'

object of a preposition

Common collocations
  • subject noun
  • object noun
  • noun phrase
  • noun clause
  • singular noun
  • plural noun
Synonyms
  • substantive

    formal term in traditional grammar; refers to nouns and noun-like words that can fill subject/object slots

Usage Note

A word's part of speech is determined by how it functions in a sentence, not by its meaning alone. For example, 'swimming' is a noun in 'Swimming is fun' (subject) but a verb in 'She is swimming' (part of the verb phrase).

Common Mistakes

Every word that comes after a preposition is a noun.
After a preposition you usually find a noun or pronoun, but a gerund like "running" is also possible.
Gerunds (verb + -ing) can follow prepositions too.
A noun is anything you can put "the" in front of.
Many adjectives and other words can also follow "the," such as "the poor" or "the best.
The article test works for many nouns but is not a foolproof method.

Word family

  • nominal
    adjectiveB2
  • nominalize
    verbC1
  • nominalization
    nounC1
  • pronoun
    nounA2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three terms refer to the same word class, but they differ in register and audience. 'Noun' is the standard, neutral term used in classrooms, textbooks, and everyday grammar talk — it is the only word a learner at any level needs. 'Naming word' is a simplified label sometimes used with young children or absolute beginners (CEFR pre-A1) to avoid the technical term; it is rarely seen in adult materials. 'Substantive' is an older, formal term from Latin grammar that appears mostly in historical linguistics or very advanced philology — it is not used in modern ESL/EFL teaching. A beginner who says 'I learned ten new nouns today' sounds natural; saying 'I learned ten new substantives today' would sound odd. Use 'noun' in all ordinary contexts.

noun ↗naming wordsubstantive ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • noun phrase
  • noun class
  • noun form
  • noun clause
  • noun ending

Phrases

  • countable and uncountable nouns
  • common and proper nouns
  • identify the noun
  • classify nouns

Prepositions

  • as a noun
  • in noun form
  • into a noun
  • of a noun

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'noun' comes from the Latin 'nomen,' meaning 'name.' It passed through Old French 'noun' before entering Middle English as 'noune.' The original idea — a word that names something — still matches the modern definition closely.