nun

1 of 2

noun (1)

ˈnən 

: a woman belonging to a religious order

especially : one under solemn vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience

nunlike

ˈnən-ˌlīk 

adjective

nun

2 of 2

noun (2)

ˈnu̇n 

: the 14th letter of the Hebrew alphabet see Alphabet Table

Examples of nun in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

This story is told by an unnamed narrator, an irreligious woman who has joined the nuns as a lay resident after her faith in environmental advocacy crumbled. —Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2026

Arcangela Tarabotti, a seventeenth-century Venetian nun who was put into a convent against her will, wrote a critique of coerced enclosure that begins by eviscerating the idea that men are by nature superior to women. —Chandler Fritz, The New York Review of Books, 21 Mar. 2026

Alfonso’s nun in her Balenciaga stared out at me dolled up in mine. —Han Ong, New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2026

Willa eludes Lockjaw's goons with the help of Deandra (Regina Hall), a French 75 member, and finds refuge with the Sisters of the Brave Beaver, a convent of sympathetic (if exhausted) nuns. —Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English nunne, from Late Latin nonna

Noun (2)

Hebrew nūn

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

circa 1567, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for nun

• bun
• done
• dun
• fun
• gun
• hun
• jun
• none
• one
• pun
• run
• shun

Kids Definition

nun

noun

ˈnən

: a woman belonging to a religious order

especially : one living under solemn vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience