nickname
Americannoun
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a name added to or substituted for the proper name of a person, place, etc., as in affection, ridicule, or familiarity.
He has always loathed his nickname of “Whizzer.”
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a familiar form of a proper name, as Jim for James and Peg for Margaret.
verb (used with object)
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to give a nickname to (a person, town, etc.); call by a nickname.
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Archaic. to call by an incorrect or improper name; misname.
noun
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a familiar, pet, or derisory name given to a person, animal, or place
his nickname was Lefty because he was left-handed
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a shortened or familiar form of a person's name
Joe is a nickname for Joseph
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has nicknamedperfect 3rd person singular
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have nicknamedperfect
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am nicknamingprogressive 1st person singular
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are nicknamingprogressive
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has been nicknamingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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nicknamessingular 3rd person
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have been nicknamingperfect progressive
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is nicknamingprogressive 3rd person singular
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nicknamingparticiple
Past
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had nicknamedperfect
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were nicknamingprogressive plural
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was nicknamingprogressive singular
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had been nicknamingperfect progressive
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nicknamedsimple
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nicknamedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of nickname
1400–50; late Middle English nekename, for ekename (the phrase an ekename being taken as a nekename ). See eke 2, name; cf. newt
Explanation
Your special, fond name for your cousin is a nickname. If his name is Steven, his nickname might be Steve — or it might very well be "Stinky" or "Junior." Nicknames can be shortened forms of first names or surnames; affectionate pet names; or names that tease or ridicule their recipient. If your name is David, but your friends call you "Dave," that's your nickname. If your sweetheart calls you "Honey," that's also a nickname. And if your coworkers call you "Skinny," there's your third nickname. Before the fifteenth century, the word was ekename, "an additional name," from the Old English eaca, "an increase."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At a 2015 match in Shanghai, he dished out nine yellow cards and three red ones – a milestone in his refereeing career that earned him the nickname "card master".
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026
Aswath Damodaran, the New York University finance professor e nickname the “dean of valuation,” had estimated, before getting a look at the prospectus, that SpaceX was worth $1.2 trillion.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026
Other recorded conversations mention "The One", a nickname which Civil Guard investigators believe refers to Sanchez himself.
From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026
Aswath Damodaran, the New York University finance professor with the nickname the “dean of valuation,” had estimated, before getting a look at the prospectus, that SpaceX was worth $1.2 trillion.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 5, 2026
Ever since Elizabeth told me Mr. Montgomery’s nickname, I can’t help but picture him as a truck with a narrow, expressionless grill plastered on its front.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
