locution
Americannoun
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a particular form of expression; a word, phrase, expression, or idiom, especially as used by a particular person, group, etc.
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a style of speech or verbal expression; phraseology.
noun
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a word, phrase, or expression
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manner or style of speech or expression
Synonym Usage
See phrase.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of locution
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin locūtiōn- (stem of locūtiō ) “speech, style of speech,” equivalent to locūt(us) (past participle of loquī “to speak”) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Your southern-born friend's habit of saying "y'all" when she's talking to her family could be described as locution — it's a word she habitually uses in particular situations. A person's style of speech — certain words or phrases she tends to use — is her locution, especially if it's specific to a particular place or group of people, like teenagers or French Canadians. You can also use the noun locution when you're talking about the way a person pronounces words. If someone tends to "beat around the bush," or tell a story in a roundabout way, you can call that circumlocution.
Vocabulary lists containing locution
Quiz yourself on these words spoken by the man at the center of the "Laurel" / "Yanny" craze!
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"The Pit and the Pendulum," Vocabulary from the short story
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"The Pit and the Pendulum" by Edgar Allan Poe
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
An awkward locution, but it appeases the sensitivity police.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 8, 2023
I was very struck by this locution of “Do your own research. People are asking.”
From Slate ● Mar. 29, 2022
And how about that use of "thumbing their noses"? With that aged locution, the good governor is, without doubt, speaking directly to his demographic.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2021
It was his background as an educator that he credited for his repetitive locution style - or, as waggish journalists dubbed it, his "single transferable speech".
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2020
If, as Horace and Professor Davidson aver, usage in language makes right, then the grammarians ought long ago to have invented some theory upon which the locution you are mistaken could be defended.
From The Verbalist A Manual Devoted to Brief Discussions of the Right and the Wrong Use of Words and to Some Other Matters of Interest to Those Who Would Speak and Write with Propriety. by Thomas Embly Osmun
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
