nominal
Americanadjective
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being such in name only; so-called; putative.
a nominal treaty;
the nominal head of the country.
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(of a price, consideration, etc.) named as a mere matter of form, being trifling in comparison with the actual or expected amount or value; minimal or insignificant.
a nominal fee;
a nominal improvement.
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of, relating to, or constituting a name or names.
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Grammar.
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of, relating to, or producing a noun or nouns.
a nominal suffix.
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functioning as or like a noun.
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assigned to a person by name.
nominal shares of stock.
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containing, bearing, or giving a name or names.
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(of money, income, or the like) measured in an amount rather than in real value.
Nominal wages have risen 50 percent, but real wages are down because of inflation.
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Chiefly Aerospace. performing or achieved within expected, acceptable limits; normal and satisfactory.
The mission was nominal throughout.
noun
adjective
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in name only; theoretical
the nominal leader
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minimal in comparison with real worth or what is expected; token
a nominal fee
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of, relating to, constituting, bearing, or giving a name
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grammar of or relating to a noun or noun phrase
noun
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grammar a nominal element; a noun, noun phrase, or syntactically similar structure
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Leisure:Bell-ringing the harmonic an octave above the strike tone of a bell
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of nominal
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English nominalle “of a noun,” from Latin nōminālis “of, belonging to a name or names, nominal,” equivalent to nōmin- (stem of nōmen ) + -ālis adjective suffix; see nomen, -al 1
Explanation
Schools, libraries, and other organizations often ask you to make a nominal donation to their cause. While you want to support many causes, these nominal donations soon add up to a substantial portion of your budget! Another meaning for the adjective nominal is "in name only" or only having a title. The CEO is the nominal head of the company, but you know his assistant is one who is really in charge of the day-to-day business of the company. He is the go-to person for signing invoices, purchase orders, and resolving personnel issues.
Vocabulary lists containing nominal
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"The Latehomecomer," Vocabulary from the memoir excerpt
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "N"
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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.
“But holding a zero-yielding asset clearly becomes less attractive when nominal interest rates are rising and the asset price itself is falling, and we think the price fall has further to run.”
From Barron's • Jun. 12, 2026
“I don’t believe that the Fed is in a position to hike this year when nominal wage growth is still a bit below the current target federal-funds rate of 3.5% to 3.75%.”
From MarketWatch • Jun. 7, 2026
The department’s funding is now flat with pre-pandemic levels when adjusted for inflation, and well above it in nominal dollars.
From Slate • Jun. 3, 2026
"I wouldn't call it nominal orbital insertion," Huot said.
From BBC • May 23, 2026
His nominal goal was to end backbiting about the bomb program from Roosevelt’s director of war mobilization, James F. Byrnes, a former senator and Supreme Court justice.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
