Newcomb

//ˈn(j)uːkəm// name, noun

name, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A sport that is a variation of volleyball, but in which one may catch the ball. uncountable
  2. 2
    Alternative form of newcomb (“sport resembling volleyball”). alt-of, alternative, uncountable
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname from Middle English. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    A suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. countable, uncountable
  3. 3
    An unincorporated community in Talbot County, Maryland, United States. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    A census-designated place in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States. countable, uncountable
  5. 5
    A town in Essex County, New York, United States. countable, uncountable
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  1. 6
    An unincorporated community in Campbell County, Tennessee, United States. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
catchballcatchballnewcomb ballnewcomb ballsimon newcomb

Example

More examples

"Professor Simon Newcomb was expounding this to the New York Mathematical Society only a month or so ago."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Named after Sophie Newcomb College, where it was invented.

Etymology 2

Nickname for a new arrival in a place, from Middle English neowecomen (“just arrived; newcomer”). The intrusive -b is the result of placenames ending in -combe, which is from combe (“wooded valley”).

Related phrases

Newcomb's paradoxNewcomb's problem

More for "newcomb"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.