nickname
Americannoun
-
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.”
-
a familiar form of a proper name, as Jim for James and Peg for Margaret.
verb (used with object)
-
to give a nickname to (a person, town, etc.); call by a nickname.
-
Archaic. to call by an incorrect or improper name; misname.
noun
-
a familiar, pet, or derisory name given to a person, animal, or place
his nickname was Lefty because he was left-handed
-
a shortened or familiar form of a person's name
Joe is a nickname for Joseph
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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.
Shi took office there as abbot in 1999, soon earning the nickname "CEO monk" for transforming the institution into a global brand.
From BBC • May 29, 2026
You may know it by a third name, a common nickname:
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026
The track surface of crushed rock and tar was so damaging to tires that later that year workers laid some 3.2 million bricks over the 2.5-mile oval—thus its enduring nickname, “The Brickyard.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
For bankers, SpaceX’s IPO will likely be “lucrative,” according to Jay Ritter, a professor at the University of Florida who has earned the nickname “Mr. IPO” for his extensive research.
From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026
Ever since Elizabeth told me Mr. Montgomery’s nickname, I can’t help but picture him as a truck with a narrow, expressionless grill plastered on its front.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
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.
