nomenclature
Americannoun
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a set or system of names or terms, as those used in a particular science or art, by an individual or community, etc.
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the names or terms comprising a set or system.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of nomenclature
First recorded in 1600–10, nomenclature is from the Latin word nōmenclātūra “a calling by name, list of names.” See nomenclator, -ure
Explanation
When adjusting to a new job, you may have trouble understanding the nomenclature, or system of naming things, in the workplace. Just remember: they’re "guests," not "customers," and they push a "purchase buggy," not a "shopping cart." The nomen- in nomenclature comes from the Latin word for name. Nomenclature is a system for giving names to things within a particular profession or field. For instance, you may have heard of binomial nomenclature in biology class. It applies to the way of referring to living things by two names, like calling humans Homo sapiens. Biologists all follow the same nomenclature so that they are easily understood by each other.
Vocabulary lists containing nomenclature
100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "N"
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The Namesake
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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.
See Examples For:
The legal news website SCOTUSblog has also begun using interim docket as its default nomenclature, rankling some commentators who accused the site of adopting a term that plays down the real-world repercussions of interim orders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025
But as his nomenclature has become longer, the number of soldiers assembled for inspection has shrunk each year with embattled forces deployed to frontlines elsewhere.
From Barron's ● Dec. 23, 2025
Reading through the ongoing debate about this nomenclature, it’s striking that what one group takes as totally obvious isn’t necessarily accepted by the other side.
From Slate ● Apr. 12, 2025
Though dramatic in nomenclature, a bomb cyclone is a low pressure system found north of the tropics and south of the Arctic that deepens, or intensifies, very rapidly over a 24-hour period.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2024
Taxonomy and nomenclature were, for him, merely means to an end.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
In 2021, the society announced the formation of an ad hoc committee to look into nomenclatures.
From New York Times ● Jul. 9, 2021
Various nomenclatures are used to derive names for amines, but all involve the class-identifying suffix –ine as illustrated here for a few simple examples:
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
Government contracting firms are adopting new nomenclatures that create buzz.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 31, 2011
As the reunion of the four first numbers, it plays an eminent part, since all the branches of science, all nomenclatures, emanate from, and retire into it.”
From Curious Myths of the Middle Ages by Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
A second example of the confusion caused by the over-ready acceptance of these nomenclatures is afforded by the remarkable figure which stands in the north aisle of the Cathedral, opposite the Daniel.
From Donatello, by Lord Balcarres by Crawford, David Lindsay, Earl of
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.
