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
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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:
Greenock was also known for sugar refining, at one point boasting 15 refineries, earning it the nickname Sugaropolis.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
On paper, the one thing he has going for him is a nickname so retro that it’s practically covered in pine tar and has transformed an otherwise ordinary prospect into an unlikely cult hero.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
He also became known for a love of luxury labels, particularly French brand Hermes -- earning him the nickname "Belt Xu" after being spotted wearing a Hermes belt to the national political congress.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
Matt Wilkinson, a 250-pound left-hander with a throwback nickname, defied the odds to make his big-league debut on Wednesday for the San Francisco Giants.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
My family nickname is my initials, ELS, for Elizabeth Leah Shainmark.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
They have earned it the nicknames "Copper capital" and "World cobalt capital".
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
But online, peptide sellers are offering “research-only” versions; in online forums, it is being referred to by nicknames like “reta” and “ratatouille.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
He was also known for his brash personality, which earned him the nicknames "the Mouth of the South" and "Captain Outrageous".
From BBC ● May 6, 2026
What were some nicknames you had growing up?
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2026
Quite quickly I had accumulated enough nicknames to last a lifetime.
From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge
It may cause the full Moon - nicknamed the Sturgeon Moon - to take on an eerie reddish glow.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
The court document says he began working as “a secretary and armed security” for Óscar Noé Medina González, a top lieutenant in the Chapitos organization nicknamed “El Panu.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Appointed vice premier under then-leader Jiang Zemin in 1991, he found himself nicknamed China's Mikhail Gorbachev after the reformist former president of the Soviet Union.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
And the valedictorian of an Ivy League university nicknamed “Nostradamus of AI” must be very smart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
The American gymnasts, famously nicknamed the Fierce Five, had just won artistic team gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, ahead of the gymnastics powerhouse nations of Russia, Romania, and China.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
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
The name Beaver Moon follows a longstanding tradition of nicknaming supermoons.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2025
The caption: “POV: Me on my way to HR yet again for nicknaming my co-worker ‘Tariff’ for costing the company more than they’re worth.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2025
She took Sierra with her everywhere, nicknaming her “Fat Cat” for her voracious appetite.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 21, 2022
But in the Key West tradition of nicknaming, everyone called him TooBad because he was terrible at marbles.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
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.
