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
Related Words
See phrase.
Other Word Forms
- locutionary adjective
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
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.
I kept a list of such locutions as I was reading — an “index of themes,” to borrow the title of the opening poem.
From Los Angeles Times
An awkward locution, but it appeases the sensitivity police.
From Washington Post
The New Hampshire Democrat, who got elected six years ago by a margin of just 1,017 votes, uses an unmistakably New England locution to describe her state’s voters: “Wicked independent.”
From Washington Post
These locutions clutter Seymour’s book, especially since what we do know of Rhys’s life and career is, if not encyclopedic, a good deal.
From New York Times
If the locution “hard-boiled” had not already been coined it would be necessary to coin it now to describe the characters of Dashiell Hammett’s latest detective story.
From New York Times
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.
