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
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:
Willing oversaw its vast operations with a punctilious vigilance that earned him the nickname “the old regulator.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Graham’s support for the latter earned him the nickname “Lindsey Grahamnesty” from conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
They roared his nickname - "Nole! Nole!" - whenever he went break point down against Sinner.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
A Northern California school district is moving to maintain a high school team nickname and mascot as a new state law goes into effect banning the use of derogatory terms depicting Indigenous Americans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
I glare at her, but she doesn't apologize, and now I'm sure I picked a bad nickname for her.
From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman
Full Moons were given nicknames around the world as people used them to help keep track of time and monitor the changing seasons.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
They have earned it the nicknames "Copper capital" and "World cobalt capital".
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
A fan favorite for his witty wording and player nicknames, King turned his most famous catchphrase, “Gimme the Hotsauce,” into the name of his podcast.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 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
Unlike Louis Lépine, Alphonse Bertillon, his partner in the Mona Lisa investigation, had zero nicknames.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Von Hagens, an anatomist, lecturer and entrepreneur nicknamed "Dr Death," in the 1970s invented the plastination process, which involves removing water and fat from human and animal tissue and replacing them with chemical compounds.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
The pass-and-move approach, nicknamed tiki-taka, was taught to players from the time they were eight years old.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
At the time the image was captured, the rover was operating west of Jezero Crater in a region the mission's science team has nicknamed "Arbot."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026
This upcoming bloom spotlights a plant nicknamed Odora, who last opened in 2024, and Odorysseus, a rookie public bloomer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Mop’s name was actually Benjamin, but we’d nicknamed him Mop because he was skinny and had really shaggy hair.
From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya
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
Paloma made light of it, nicknaming the tumour "Maria the Lung Mass", he says.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 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
They had extinguished the main fire, which ignited smaller ones, nicknaming it “la Mère,” or mother, in French.
From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2023
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.
