nickname
Noun:
- A familiar or humorous name given to a person or thing instead of or as well as the real name: A "nickname" is a descriptive, affectionate, or informal name used for someone or something, often based on a characteristic, a shortened form of their real name, or an event.
Verb:
- To give a nickname to someone or something: The action of calling or referring to a person or thing by a nickname.
Noun: His nickname in school was "Red" because of his hair color."The Big Apple" is a famous nickname for New York City.
Verb: They nicknamed him "Speedy" for his fast running.The tall building was nicknamed "The Gherkin" by the locals.
"To earn a nickname": To acquire a nickname through one's actions or characteristics. She earned the nickname "The Brain" for always knowing the answers.
"To go by a nickname": To be commonly known or addressed by a nickname. Although his name is Robert, he goes by the nickname "Bob".
Moniker (noun): A name or nickname (more informal/slang). He signed the graffiti with his moniker.
Sobriquet (noun): A nickname or an assumed name (more formal/literary). The author was known by the sobriquet "The Bard of Avon".
- Alias: A false or assumed name.
- Epithet: A descriptive word or phrase expressing a quality of the person or thing mentioned.
(This word does not commonly form phrasal verbs. Its usage is typically direct.)
- "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet": This proverb, from Shakespeare, suggests that what something is matters more than what it is called. It is conceptually related to the idea of a name or nickname not changing the essence of a person or thing.
- a descriptive name for a place or thing
- the nickname for the U.S. Constitution is `Old Ironsides'
- a familiar name for a person (often a shortened version of a person's given name)
- Joe's mother would not use his nickname and always called him Joseph
- Henry's nickname was Slim
- give a nickname to