What is a Concrete Noun? | Definition and Examples

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What Is a Concrete Noun?

A concrete noun is a noun that can be perceived by any one of the five senses. The five senses are sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. A concrete noun is also called a tangible noun.

Examples:

phone
chocolate
cookies
song
rose

How Do We Identify a Concrete Noun?

Read each word, and ask the question "Can I see, hear, smell, taste, or touch it?" If your answer is "yes", the noun is concrete.

Example:

The noise of the firecrackers frightened Sandra.

We can hear the noise, hence it is a concrete noun.
We can see and hear firecrackers, hence it is a concrete noun.
We can see Sandra, hence it is a concrete noun.

Click on the Circles to Spot the Six Concrete Nouns

kite
fire
ocean
crying
pure
jumping
lemon
salt
width
ice
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Types of Concrete Nouns

People, places, or things you can see, hear, smell, taste, or touch are concrete nouns.

Types
Examples
People
Mom, Hannah, cop
Places
library, Florida, school
Things you can hear
radio, thunder, whistle
Things you can see
dog, umbrella, boy
Things you can smell
fragrance, flower, herbs
Things you can taste
bitter melon, candy, medicine
Things you can touch
skin, coin, coal

Noun Types within Concrete Nouns

All common, proper, and collective nouns are concrete nouns. There are a few exceptions though.

Noun Types
Examples
proper nouns
Tom, Statue of Liberty
common nouns
phone, home
countable nous
student, tower
uncountable nouns
milk, sugar
collective nouns
galaxy of stars, host of fans
singular nouns
a cat, a rat
plural nouns
cats, rats

Countable and Uncountable Concrete Nouns

  • Countable concrete nouns can be used as singular and plural.

    Examples:

    a city

    many cities

  • Concrete nouns that are uncountable don't have plural forms.

    Examples:

    sugar

    salt

The Difference between Concrete Nouns and Abstract Nouns

The nouns that you can see, hear, touch, smell, or taste are concrete nouns, and those that you cannot are abstract nouns.

Example:

The sight of sunset was an absolute joy.

In the above sentence, the words "sunset" and "joy" are nouns. While "sunset" is a concrete noun, "joy" is an abstract noun.


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Sample Worksheets

Strengthen your skills using our free printable worksheets on Concrete Nouns.