Meaning & use
nom nom
Last updated
Meanings
interjectioninformalchild language
A playful sound people make or write to show that food is delicious or that they are eating happily.
Grammar: Used alone as a comment, often repeated: Nom nom! This is great.
Nom nom! This pizza is amazing.
She looked at the chocolate cake and said, 'Nom nom!'
The baby made nom nom sounds while eating her banana.
adjectivebefore a nouninformalchild language
Describing food that looks or sounds very tasty and appealing.
Grammar: Comes before a noun: a nom nom burger. Not used after a verb like 'be'.
Patterns
- nom nom food
- nom nom meal
That looks like a nom nom breakfast.
They posted a photo of their nom nom dinner.
I want some nom nom snacks right now.
Common combinations
- nom nom nom
- He typed 'nom nom nom' under the picture of his lunch.
- say nom nom
- The kids say nom nom when they see cookies.
- nom nom sounds
- The baby made happy nom nom sounds.
Synonyms and how they differ
- yum
- Yum is a more general exclamation for good-tasting food, while nom nom imitates the sound of eating and is often used playfully.
- yummy
- Yummy is an adjective meaning 'tasting very good', whereas nom nom is mainly an interjection or a playful adjective.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'nom nom' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Nom nom' is an interjection used alone to show enjoyment of food, as in option 1. Option 0 uses it as an adjective after 'very', which is not standard; option 2 uses it as a verb, which is not standard; option 3 uses it as a comparative, which is not standard.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “nom nom”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.