Definition:
A noun that refers to an object or idea that can form a plural or occur in a noun phrase with an indefinite article or with numerals. Contrast with mass noun (or noncount noun). See also: Plural Forms of Nouns.
Examples and Observations:
- "Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back."
(Eugene O'Neill) - "Count nouns are those that denote enumerable things and that are capable of forming plurals (e.g., cranes, parties, minivans, oxen); mass (noncount) nouns are often abstract nouns--they cannot be enumerated (e.g., insurance, courage, mud). Many nouns can be both count <he gave several talks> and mass <talk is cheap>, depending on the sense. These are few, however, in comparison to the nouns that are exclusively either count or mass."
(Bryan A. Garner, "Count Nouns and Mass Nouns." Garner's Modern American Usage. Oxford Univ. Press, 2003) - "The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn."
(Ralph Waldo Emerson) - "Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead."
(Oscar Wilde) - "Some people are born to lift heavy weights, some are born to juggle golden balls."
(Max Beerbohm) - "Common nouns can be divided into two types. Count nouns refer to individual, countable entities, such as books, eggs, and horses. Noncount nouns refer to an undifferentiated mass or notion, such as butter, music, and advice. Noncount nouns are also known as mass nouns. . . .
"Some nouns can be either count or noncount, depending on their meaning. Cake, for example, is a count noun in this sentence:Would you like a cake?
but a noncount noun in this one:Do you like cake?"
(David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003)
Also Known As: unit noun, countable noun
