What does "name" mean?
Any nounal word or phrase which indicates a particular person, place, class, or thing.
Name
/neɪm/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Any nounal word or phrase which indicates a particular person, place, class, or thing.
- Grammar: name is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: noun, a b c labels, abbas, academic historical term.
- Useful contrasts: address number, anonymity, barcode numbers.
- Usage evidence: My next door neighbor is a virtuoso whose skills with the piano have earned him a name among music experts.
How to use "name"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "name" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "name" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "name" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "name" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "name" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "noun" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "name", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any nounal word or phrase which indicates a particular person, place, class, or thing.
"I've never liked the name my parents gave me so I changed it at the age of twenty."
- 2 Any of several types of true yam (Dioscorea) used in Caribbean Spanish cooking.
- 3 by the sanction or authority of wordnet
- 4 A reputation.
"Good name in man and woman, dear my lord Is the immediate jewel of their souls."
- 5 a language unit by which a person or thing is known wordnet
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 An abusive or insulting epithet.
"Stop calling me names!"
- 7 a defamatory or abusive word or phrase wordnet
- 8 A person (or legal person).
"They list with women each degenerate name."
- 9 family based on male descent wordnet
- 10 Those of a certain name; a race; a family.
"The ministers of the republic, mortal enemies of his name, came every day to pay their feigned civilities."
- 11 a well-known or notable person wordnet
- 12 An authority; a behalf.
"Halt in the name of the law!"
- 13 a person's reputation wordnet
- 14 An identifier, generally a unique string of characters.
- 15 An investor in Lloyd's of London bearing unlimited liability. UK
Verb
- 1 To give a name to. ditransitive
"One visitor named Hou Yugang said he was not too concerned about climate change and Baishui’s melting."
- 2 determine or distinguish the nature of a problem or an illness through a diagnostic analysis wordnet
- 3 To mention, specify. transitive
"He named his demands."
- 4 identify as in botany or biology, for example wordnet
- 5 To identify as relevant or important transitive
"naming the problem"
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 give or make a list of; name individually; give the names of wordnet
- 7 To publicly implicate by name. transitive
"The painter was named as an accomplice."
- 8 mention and identify by name wordnet
- 9 To disclose the name of. transitive
"Police are not naming the suspect as he is a minor."
- 10 make reference to wordnet
- 11 To designate for a role. transitive
"My neighbor was named to the steering committee."
- 12 give the name or identifying characteristics of; refer to by name or some other identifying characteristic property wordnet
- 13 To initiate a process to temporarily remove a member of parliament who is breaking the rules of conduct. Westminster-system, transitive
"I must warn the Right Honourable gentleman, that if he persists in his refusal to comply with my order to withdraw [the words "deliberately deceptive"], I shall be compelled to name him."
- 14 assign a specified (usually proper) name to wordnet
- 15 create and charge with a task or function wordnet
- 16 charge with a function; charge to be wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 Abbreviation of North American English. abbreviation, alt-of
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"My next door neighbor is a virtuoso whose skills with the piano have earned him a name among music experts."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "name"?
Common synonyms include: noun, a b c labels, abbas, academic historical term, academic theoretical descriptor, acclaim.
How do you use "name" in a sentence?
My next door neighbor is a virtuoso whose skills with the piano have earned him a name among music experts.
How do you pronounce "name"?
Pronounced /neɪm/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
PIE word *h₁nómn̥ From Middle English name, nome, from Old English nama, noma, from Proto-West Germanic *namō, from Proto-Germanic *namô (“name”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ (“name”). Cognates Germanic Cognates: Yola naame, name, naume (“name”), North Frisian Naam, neem, noome, nööm (“name”), Saterland Frisian Nome, Noome (“name”), West Frisian namme (“name”), Alemannic German Naame, namä, noame, nomu, nàmund (“name”), Cimbrian naamo, name, nåm (“name”), Dutch naam, name (“name”), German Nahme, Name (“name”), German Low German Naam (“name”), Luxembourgish Numm (“name”), Mòcheno nu'm (“name”), Vilamovian noma (“name”), Yiddish נאָמען (nomen, “name”), Danish, Faroese and Norwegian Bokmål navn (“name”), Icelandic nafn (“name”), Norwegian Nynorsk nabn, namn (“name”), Swedish namn (“name”), Gothic 𐌽𐌰𐌼𐍉 (namō, “name”). Indo-European Cognates: Latin nōmen (“name”) (whence Spanish nombre (“name”)), Russian имя (imja, “name”), Ashkun nām (“name”), Kamkata-viri nom, num (“name”), Prasuni nom, nëmë (“name”), Waigali nām (“name”), Sanskrit नामन् (nā́man, “name”). Possible cognates outside of Indo-European include Finnish nimi (“name”) and Hungarian név (“name”). Doublet of nomen and noun.
Etymology 2
From Middle English namen, from Old English namian (“to name, mention”) and ġenamian (“to name, call, appoint”), from Proto-West Germanic *namōn (“to name”). Cognate with West Frisian neame (“to name; to mention”). Compare also Old English nemnan, nemnian (“to name, give a name to a person or thing”).
Etymology 3
Borrowed from Spanish ñame, substituting n for the unfamiliar Spanish letter ñ. Doublet of yam.