nom de plume

[ nom duh-ploom; French nawnduh-plym ]

See synonyms for nom de plume on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural noms de plume

[nomz duh-ploom; French nawnduh-plym]. /ˌnɒmz də ˈplum; French nɔ̃ də ˈplüm/.

pen name.

Origin of nom de plume

First recorded in 1815–25; coined in English, from French words: literally, “pen name”

Words Nearby nom de plume

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use nom de plume in a sentence

His musical nom de plume comes from the name of a storied Jacobean-era house in Wales.
The legacy of Adam Perkins’s surreal ‘Welcome to Chili’s’ Vine | Travis Andrews | April 15, 2021 | Washington Post
For one month in 2013, a British street artist known by the nom de plume of Banksy hypnotized the city of New York.
Catch Him If You Can: Reliving Banksy’s New York Invasion | Alex Suskind | November 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Mark Owen (the nom de plume for Matt Bissonnette) carefully recounts his life and career as a member of SEAL Team 6.
From ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ to ‘Medal of Honor’ Video Game: The SEAL Team Six Gift Guide | Benjamin Schor | December 19, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
First, he incorporated his nom de plume in order to protect the copyright on his books and extend his royalties.
America's First Modern Celebrity | Laura Skandera Trombley | March 20, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
He did not consider the use of his own name; the 'nom de plume' was the fashion of the time.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete | Albert Bigelow Paine

He ought to have explained that he was the author, and not merely a nom de plume for another man to hide behind.
Is Shakespeare Dead? | Mark Twain
We are reminded of an incident which a popular writer, under the nom de plume introduced in a novel, bearing the title "We Two."
The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Joshua | William Garden Blaikie
Then she added weakly: "But it often helps a book, doesn't it, to come out under—under a nom de plume?"
The Silver Poppy | Arthur Stringer
After twenty years of Paris, Madame Palffy still said nom de plume and caf noir.
The Transgression of Andrew Vane | Guy Wetmore Carryl

British Dictionary definitions for nom de plume

nom de plume

/ (ˈnɒm də ˈpluːm) /

nounplural noms de plume (ˈnɒm də ˈpluːm)

another term for pen name

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for nom de plume

nom de plume

[ (nom di ploohm) ]

French for “pen name”; an invented name under which an author writes. Mark Twain was the nom de plume of Samuel L. Clemens.

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