A part of speech and a specialization of mass noun (q.v.). This is the collection of all ordinary mass nouns. Mass nouns are typically used to refer to stufflike things, such as homogeneous substances or processes/conditions/concepts without subdivisions (e.g. instances, or instances of instances, of type of stuff (q.v.)). In English syntax, mass nouns are always singular in form, are preceded in indefinite descriptions with the word 'some' rather than 'a' or 'an', and cannot be preceded with a numeric determiner (e.g. 'three'). Examples of English mass nouns include 'water'and 'glamour'. Cf count noun.