Word.ws English Dictionary

proper

Syllables: prop·erUK/ˈpɹɒpə//ˈpɹɑpɚ/

proper adjective: suited or acceptable to the purpose or circumstances; fit, suitable.

Adjective

proper (comparative more proper, superlative most proper)

  1. Suited or acceptable to the purpose or circumstances; fit, suitable.
    • the proper time to plant potatoes
    • The proper study of mankind is man.1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], (please specify |epistle=I to IV), London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC
  2. Following the established standards of behavior or manners; correct or decorous.
    • a very proper young lady
    • This new-comer was a man who in any company would have seemed striking.[…]Indeed, all his features were in large mold, like the man himself, as though he had come from a day when skin garments made the proper garb of men.1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC
  3. Such that the preimage of every compact set is compact.
  4. Continuous, mapping closed sets to closed sets, and such that the preimage of every point is compact.
  5. Separated, of finite type, and universally closed.
  6. Such that unique morphism from the variety to k is proper (as above).
  7. Such that every closed ball is compact.
  8. Used to designate a particular person, place, or thing. Proper nouns are usually written with an initial capital letter.
  9. Pertaining exclusively to a specific thing or person; particular.
    • They have a proper saint almost for every peculiar infirmity: for poison, gouts, agues […]., II.1.3
    • those higher and peculiar attributes […] which constitute our proper humanity1829, James Marsh, Preliminary Essay to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Aids to Reflection
  10. (postpositional, usually) In the strict sense; within the strict definition or core (of a specified place, taxonomic order, idea, etc).
    • These are divided into two great families, the vipers proper (Viperidae) and the pit-vipers (Crotalidae).1893, Annual of the Universal Medical Sciences
    • Siberia, though it stands outside the territorial confines of Russia proper, constitutes an essentially component part […]. Outer Mongolia, [so called] to distinguish it from Inner Mongolia, which lies nearer to China proper, revolted and declared its independence.1976, Eu-Yang Kwang, The political reconstruction of China, page 165
  11. Belonging to oneself or itself; own.
    • proper motion — proper left — proper right
    • a man so bold
      That dares do justice on my proper sonc. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […]...
  12. Portrayed in natural or usual coloration, as opposed to conventional tinctures.
Show 8 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. Being strictly part of some other thing (not necessarily explicitly mentioned, but of definitional importance), and not being the thing itself.
    • proper subset — proper ideal
  2. Eigen-; designating a function or value which is an eigenfunction or eigenvalue.
  3. Excellent, of high quality; such as the specific person or thing should ideally be. (Now often merged with later senses.)
    • Now that was a proper breakfast.
  4. (regional) Attractive, elegant.
    • The same tyme was Moses borne, and was a propper [translating ἀστεῖος (asteîos)] childe in the sight of God, which was norisshed up in his fathers housse thre monethes.1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts vij
  5. (often, postpositional) In the very strictest sense of the word.
    • Though unusual in the Dublin area he knew that it was not by any means unknown for desperadoes who had next to nothing to live on to be abroad waylaying and generally terrorising peaceable pedestrians by placing a pistol at their head in some secluded spot outside the city proper[…].1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 16]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC
    Synonyms:
    strictly speaking, properly speaking, par excellence
  6. Including only the core areas while excluding surrounding suburbs.
  7. (colloquial) Utter, complete.
    • When I realized I was wearing my shirt inside out, I felt a proper fool.
  8. Not being a set.

Adverb

proper (not comparable)

  1. (Ireland, UK, colloquial) properly; thoroughly; completely.
    • 'I thought it was the American Associated Press.' 'Oh, they are on the track, are they?' 'They to-day, and the Times yesterday. Oh, they are buzzing round proper.'1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, When the World Screamed
    • “Christmas Eve,” said Nabby Adams. “I used to pump the bloody organ for the carols, proper pissed usually.”1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 202
  2. (colloquial, nonstandard) properly.
    • "But it's not many of us as can make 'em proper."1988, Mary Steele, Mallyroot's Pub at Misery Ponds, Ringwood: Puffin Books, page 68
    • When I meet a bad chick, know I gotta tell her hello
      talk real proper, but she straight up out the ghetto2012, Latta, Soufside, Hello (song)

Noun

proper (plural propers)

  1. (obsolete) Something set apart for a special use.
  2. A part of the Christian liturgy that varies according to the date.

Proper noun capitalized: Proper

Proper (plural Propers)

  1. A surname.
    • According to court records, the mother’s action led to the arrest of 19-year-old Tycen Proper of Danville on June 10.2026 June 17, Katie Millard, “Who is Tycen Proper, the Ohio man accused of plotting an attack at the White House?”, in NBC4i

proper meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

proper in Hindi

fit, suitable
उचित ucit
following the established standards of behavior or manners
शालीन śālīn, सभ्य sabhya

proper in Tamil

ஒழுங்கான, சரியான

proper in Marathi

proper
बरोबर barobar

proper in Urdu

fit, suitable
اچت ucit
More languagesFewer languages
proper in Bengali
উচিত ucit, সাধু śadhu, যোগ্য jōggo
proper in Telugu
ఉచితము ucitamu, పథ్యము pathyamu, అనువు anuvu, నెమ్మది nemmadi
proper in Malayalam
ഉചിതം ucitaṁ
proper in Kannada
ಉಚಿತ ucita
proper in Gujarati
વ્યક્તિવાચક vyaktivācak, રૂડું rūṛũ
proper in Sanskrit
ऋत ṛtá, कल्प kálpa, उचित ucitá, स्थान sthā́na
proper in Persian
خود xod

Examples of proper in a sentence

  • One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains.2014 June 14, “It's a gas”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8891:
  • The Nippy became a national icon, symbolic of the girl next door, always approachable and proper; […]2014, Paul Chrystal, Tea: A Very British Beverage:
  • Now learn the difference, at your proper cost, / Betwixt true valour and an empty boast.1717, John Dryden, Meleager and Atalanta:
  • every country, and more than that, every private place, hath his proper remedies growing in it, particular almost to the domineering and most frequent maladies of it., II.4.1.ii

All 40 example sentences with proper

Synonyms of proper

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

10 more antonymsFewer antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of proper

Forms of proper

Adjective
comparativemore proper
superlativemost proper
alternative Geordiepropa
alternative pronunciation-spellingpropah
alternative pronunciation-spellingpropuh
alternative form (obsolete)propre
Noun
pluralpropers
Proper noun
pluralPropers

Origin of proper

From Middle English propre, from Anglo-Norman proper, propre, Old French propre (French: propre), from Latin proprius.

Words formed from proper

Phrases with proper

24 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with proper

9 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about proper

What does proper mean?
Proper means suited or acceptable to the purpose or circumstances; fit, suitable.
What is proper in Hindi?
Proper in Hindi is उचित (ucit), शालीन (śālīn), सभ्य (sabhya). See Proper meaning in Hindi.
How do you use proper in a sentence?
One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains.
What part of speech is proper?
Proper can be an adjective, an adverb, a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce proper?
Proper is pronounced /ˈpɹɒpə/ (UK).

Words near proper in the dictionary

  1. propeptidases
  2. propeptide
  3. propeptides
  4. propeptone
  5. propeptones
  6. proper
  7. proper acceleration
  8. proper accelerations
  9. proper adjective
  10. proper adjectives
  11. proper article

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: proper (page history and authors); Proper (page history and authors); proper (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); बरोबर (Marathi) (page history and authors); উচিত (Bengali) (page history and authors); అనువు (Telugu) (page history and authors); ഉചിതം (Malayalam) (page history and authors); ಉಚಿತ (Kannada) (page history and authors); રૂડું (Gujarati) (page history and authors); उचित (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-proper.ogg.

Cite this entry: “proper.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/proper. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.