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
- nicknamer noun
- unnicknamed adjective
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; newt
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.
David, whose activism has earned him the nickname "Commander", became politically active in the mid-2000s after learning about the FCT's unique constitutional status.
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026
The historian Rachel Trethewey corrects that in a lively biography, “Muv,” which takes its title from the nickname Sydney’s children bestowed on her.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
His Fort Worth restaurant—named for his nickname, Chalio—features murals that reflect that family history.
From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026
Bohm usually doesn’t stand out, even at 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, with the nickname Raffe because a teammate thought he resembled a giraffe.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026
She’d spent so much time up there they’d nicknamed her Little Monkey — a nickname Monica had liked.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
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.
