nickname
Americannoun
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nicknames
plural
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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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nicknames,
present (3rd person singular)
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nicknamed,
past participle, past
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nicknaming
present participle
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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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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nicknamesimple
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nicknamessimple
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have nicknamedperfect
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has nicknamedperfect
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am nicknamingprogressive
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are nicknamingprogressive
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is nicknamingprogressive
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have been nicknamingperfect progressive
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has been nicknamingperfect progressive
Past
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nicknamedsimple
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had nicknamedperfect
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was nicknamingprogressive
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were nicknamingprogressive
-
had been nicknamingperfect progressive
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.
See Examples For:
People get nicknames and his nickname is 'Chucker'.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Its resemblance to the 56-year-old British luxury brand has earned the Jaecoo a double-edged nickname: the Temu Range Rover.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Named as Bottega Veneta's creative director in 2021, he helped reinvent the Italian leather goods brand, earning him the nickname the "magician of Milan".
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
On Wall Street, this dynamic has its own nickname — the “Fed put.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
“Hey, Jo-No,” she called, using the nickname she knew would annoy him.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The pilots, a team of champion drone pilots based in Austin, have “Top Gun”-style nicknames like “Amari” and “Proximo.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Let’s hear it for author David Winder for putting together a list of the top 50 most interesting high school nicknames.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Historically, full Moons were given nicknames to help keep track of time and monitor the changing seasons.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
They have earned it the nicknames "Copper capital" and "World cobalt capital".
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
Plus it has the worst nicknames: “horse,” right?
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
They're nicknamed 'Der Club' because of their status in early German football.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
The first — nicknamed El Cordonazo, or the Lash of St. Francis — hit Long Beach and San Pedro in September 1939.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
While stopped at a sandy ridge nicknamed "Chocolatal," Curiosity used its navigation cameras to photograph the surrounding landscape at two different times of day.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026
Fear of cellphone crime has pushed an estimated 30 percent of Brazilians -- about 65 million people -- to keep a cheap second phone, nicknamed a "robber's phone," according to the FBSP.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
Arnaios, as his gentle mother called him, he had been nicknamed “Iros” by the young for being ready to take messages.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
To kick off the globally renowned festival, Carpenter - headlining for the first time - turned the stage into the Hollywood Hills, nicknaming it "Sabrinawood".
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026
Sokol earned a reputation for being hard-driving and sometimes difficult, with some nicknaming him “The Great Young God,” a nod to both his intelligence and his ego.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2026
Aside from nicknaming Haley “birdbrain,” Trump and his allies largely ignored her until recent weeks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 4, 2024
She took Sierra with her everywhere, nicknaming her “Fat Cat” for her voracious appetite.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 21, 2022
The local racetrackers grew fond of the odd, bookish boy, nicknaming him Red, and a few let him ride their horses.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
