Traditionally, nouns indicate a person, place, thing, or idea, whereas verbs represent actions. But much like in a watercolor painting, sometimes the lines get blurred. One such example is the concept of verbing, in which nouns are turned into verbs. Consider “dress,” “table,” and “mail,” all of which function as both nouns and verbs — someone can dress for the day in a dress, table an idea while having a discussion at a table, and mail a piece of mail. While it’s been happening virtually as long as English has been around, verbing continues to be a common linguistic practice, as shown by these five modern nouns that have recently been turned into verbs.
When you’re out at dinner with friends, you might use Venmo, a mobile payment app, to help settle the bill. Rather than split the bill over multiple credit cards or different denominations of cash, one person may put down their card and tell the others to “Venmo them” the money they owe. Similar services such as Zelle and Cash App are also used as verbs in modern parlance. You’re just as likely to hear “Cash App me” or “Can I PayPal you?”
The abbreviation “DM” is short for “direct message,” referring to a private conversation over social media. (It’s an initialism, not an acronym, so it’s pronounced “dee-em.”) It’s now common to DM someone when messaging them over Instagram, Facebook, or any other social media platform.
“Stan” is a proper noun that is both a man’s name and the title of a 2000 Eminem song about an obsessed fan named Stan. Today, “stan” is also a common noun to refer to an obsessed fan in general, and “to stan” means “to exhibit fandom to an extreme or excessive degree,” according to Merriam-Webster. These usages developed from the Eminem song.
In the oldest sense, a troll is a folklore creature that inhabits caves or hills. In a retro, playful sense, a Troll (capital “T”) is a doll with crazy, colorful hair and a newer animated movie franchise. But online, trolls are bullies who like to antagonize others, and the verb “to troll” means “to antagonize (others) online by deliberately posting inflammatory, irrelevant, or offensive comments or other disruptive content.”
Here’s a verb that turned into a noun that then caused the existing verb to evolve. While “to zoom” has long meant “to go speedily,” it has taken on an additional meaning since the COVID-19 pandemic. As more people shifted to working from home, they began relying on the video conferencing service Zoom to communicate. Now, “let’s Zoom” is a way to say, “let’s video chat.” Even if someone is using a service other than Zoom, saying, “let’s use Zoom,” is understandable by all.
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