Nominal means: Existing in name only.. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
Seen in the wild
10 citations · last seen May 2026
Seen in the wild
BlueskyMay 2026
Yes that post is correct but it’s not really a paradox. But also, the oecd has a giant manual of how productivity is to be measured to get around these problems and when you look at productivity stats they are never r…
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BlueskyMay 2026
Steve Ballmer (American businessman, former chief executive officer of Microsoft), net worth $51.90 billion COULD BUY Cameroon 🇨🇲, nominal GDP $44.34 billion
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BlueskyMay 2026
Pod 15 atmospheric pressure now nominal.
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BlueskyMay 2026
Peter Thiel (German-American entrepreneur and venture capitalist (born 1967)), net worth $23.90 billion COULD BUY Botswana 🇧🇼, nominal GDP $18.74 billion
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BlueskyMay 2026
Han Terra (South Korean inventor and composer), net worth $33.50 billion COULD BUY Zambia 🇿🇲, nominal GDP $29.78 billion
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Definitions
UK
#1·Apr 27, 2026UK
Existing in name only.
: At Edinburgh he passed eighteen months in nominal attendance on lectures, and picked up some superficial information about chemistry and natural history.
For parents
Nominal means: Existing in name only.. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
For ESL learners
nominal means: Existing in name only.. Register: neutral, standard English. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself. A formal-English equivalent (a synonym or descriptive phrase) is usually safer in writing. When in doubt, paraphrase rather than reuse the slang form.
Heard in the wild
“That theory needs to be held accountable *as a theory* and the people who promoted it, and continue to promote it, need to be similarly held accountable — in terms of their fitness to lead, or speak for, the nominal left in a period of immense, complicated challenges. </end>”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Şirket 4 Mayıs 2026’da 6,35-6,52 TL aralığından 500 Bin TL nominal değerli hisse geri alımı yaptı. Toplam pay oranı %2,43’e yükseldi. #METRO”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Even the people who get that will want nominal prices to stay the same. They'll support crazy policies like reducing the money supply and sky-high interest rates to achieve that.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Joseph Lau (Hong Kong businessman), net worth $16.90 billion COULD BUY Namibia 🇳🇦, nominal GDP $12.45 billion”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Actually doing journalism is incompatible with being paid as a nominal journalist.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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UK
#2·Apr 27, 2026UK
Assigned to or bearing a person's name.
Heard in the wild
“Yes that post is correct but it’s not really a paradox. But also, the oecd has a giant manual of how productivity is to be measured to get around these problems and when you look at productivity stats they are never really doing nominal, or even real, cash value per hour worked.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Steve Ballmer (American businessman, former chief executive officer of Microsoft), net worth $51.90 billion COULD BUY Cameroon 🇨🇲, nominal GDP $44.34 billion”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Pod 15 atmospheric pressure now nominal.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Peter Thiel (German-American entrepreneur and venture capitalist (born 1967)), net worth $23.90 billion COULD BUY Botswana 🇧🇼, nominal GDP $18.74 billion”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Han Terra (South Korean inventor and composer), net worth $33.50 billion COULD BUY Zambia 🇿🇲, nominal GDP $29.78 billion”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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UK
#3·Apr 27, 2026UK
Of, resembling, relating to, or consisting of a name or names.
a nominal difference
Origin: From the , borrowed from , from name. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Cluster: general
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For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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UK
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Other words near "nominal" (N)
no-loadnoltno-markNo-Matesno matterno me gustaNomineenonaluminumnoncerynoncingnon-commissioned membernoncompounder
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