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 Kang inundates readers with proper nouns like the Radiant dynasty and Three Golden Dumplings (to say nothing of the inevitable purple cloud) that vaguely link different points on the timeline, but that have no ties to a social or material world. —

Stephen Kearse, Washington Post, 17 July 2024 These features can encompass anything from simple proper nouns like the Golden Gate Bridge to more abstract concepts like programming errors or the addition function in computer code and often represent the same concept across multiple languages and communication modes (e.g., text and images). —

Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 22 May 2024 Following her lead, the French encyclopedic dictionary Petit Larousse Illustré has added the musician’s name as a proper noun in its 2024 update. —

Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 2 May 2024 Anytime the viewer might get tripped up by the proper nouns, Villeneuve is there to strike them with the power of Herbert’s universe. —

David Sims, The Atlantic, 28 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for proper noun

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'proper noun.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.