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Synonyms

pet name

American  

noun

pet names plural
  1. a name or a term of address used to express affection for a person, thing, etc.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of pet name

First recorded in 1910–15

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:

“I realized Larry was falling in love with me,” she told The Times in 1996, when he called her by a pet name while they were in rehearsals.

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 17, 2025

Outside is a bench dedicated to "Jennie Wren" – the family's pet name for her daughter – where Ms Moore often sits to reflect and allow memories from happier times to return.

From BBC Oct. 25, 2024

He’ll botch a gig over his annoyance at not being allowed to call a stranger by a pet name she reserves for her closest friend.

From Salon Feb. 9, 2024

In early 2021, they moved in together in Bixby, Okla. That fall, Ms. Martin proposed with a bag of gummy bears; her pet name for Ms. Wigington is Gummy Bear.

From New York Times Apr. 8, 2022

At the top of sheets of scratchy pale yellow paper he writes out his pet name again and again, and the alphabet in capitals and lowercase.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

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