noun phrase

American  

noun

Grammar.

1. a construction that functions syntactically as a noun, consisting of a noun and any modifiers, as all the men in the room who are reading books, or of a noun substitute, as a pronoun.

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noun phrase British  

noun

1.  NP.  grammar a constituent of a sentence that consists of a noun and any modifiers it may have a noun clause, or a word, such as a pronoun, that takes the place of a noun

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Etymology

Origin of noun phrase

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Presumably Bill Clinton, who uttered the first sentence while running for president in 1992, would never have said Give I a chance, because a noun phrase next to a transitive verb is obviously accusative.

From Literature

It’s because “to greenlight” was formed anew from a noun phrase, “a green light”.

From Economist

Why does such an unremarkable noun phrase rankle so badly?

From Washington Post

The can be merged with cat to give a noun phrase, which other grammar rules can operate on as if it were a bare noun like water.

From Economist

For his part, Pinker shows that the problem evaporates when you understand that “like” may take a clause as well as a noun phrase as its complement.

From Washington Post