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phrase definition

phrase (frāz)

noun

  1. a manner or style of speech or expression; phraseology
  2. a short, colorful or forceful expression
  3. a connected series of movements in a formal dance
  4. Gram. a sequence of two or more words conveying a single thought or forming a distinct part of a sentence but not containing a subject and predicate
  5. Linguis. a group of words that functions as a syntactic unit
  6. Music a short, distinct part or passage, usually of two, four, or eight measures

Etymology: L phrasis, diction < Gr < phrazein, to speak

transitive verb, intransitive verb phrased, phrasing phras′·ing

  1. to express in words or in a phrase
  2. Music to mark off or divide (notes) into phrases

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

phrase Synonyms

phrase

n.

group of words, idiom, expression, slogan, catchword, maxim, wordgroup.

Grammatical phrases include: prepositional, gerund, gerundive, participial, infinitive, noun, adjective, adjectival, adverbial, conjunctive, absolute, attributive, headed, nonheaded, exocentric, endocentric, subordinate, restrictive, nonrestrictive.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

phrase Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • coin: Chris first coined the phrase " The Long Tail " in the 2004 Wired article by the same name.

Adjective modifier

  • prepositional: Prepositional phrases can modify nouns, e.g. the man in the moon.

Modifies a noun

  • ': What do I mean by the phrase ' the inadequate state of the current intellectual vocabulary ' ?

Noun used with modifier

  • noun: The search engine will examine the query, extract nouns and noun phrases and construct a query for the user.
phrase usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

phrase quotes

Cricket remains for me the game of games, the sanspareil, the great metaphor, the best marriage ever devisedof mind and body† For meit remainstheProust of pastimes, the subtlest and most poetic, the most past- and-present; whose beauty can lie equally in days, in a whole, or in one tiny phrase, a blinding split second.

-Fowles,John Robert

L'art pour l'art est un vain mot. L'art pour le vrai, l'art pour le beau et le bon, voila'   la religion que je cherche. Art for art's sake is an empty phrase. Art for the sake of the true, art for the sake of the good and the beautiful, that is the faith I search for.

-Samuelson, Sir Sydney

Long life to thy fame and peace to thy soul, Rob Burns! When I want to express a sentiment which I feel strongly, I find the phrase in Shakespeareöor thee. The blockheads talk of my being like Shakespeareönot fit to tie his brogues.

-Scott, Sir Walter

phrase quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"phrase." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/phrase>

APA Style

phrase. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/phrase

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