a noun such as ‘soap’ that is usually uncountable but is also used with ‘a’ or ‘an’, or in the plural, to talk about different types of something. For example the noun ‘soap’ in ‘Wash your hands with soap and water’ is uncountable, while in ‘You should choose a mild soap’ and ‘Some soaps are very strongly perfumed’, ‘soap’ is countable. A mass noun is used in both these ways.
Synonyms and related words
Types and forms of nouns
ablative
abstract noun
collective noun
mass noun
noun countable linguistics
US
Word Forms
singular
mass noun
plural
mass nouns
DEFINITIONS1
1
a noun such as ‘soap’ that is usually uncountable but is also used with ‘a’ or ‘an’, or in the plural, to talk about different types of something. For example the noun ‘soap’ in ‘Wash your hands with soap and water’ is uncountable, while in ‘You should choose a mild soap’ and ‘Some soaps are very strongly perfumed’, ‘soap’ is countable. A mass noun is used in both these ways.