catch phrase

or catch·phrase

See more synonyms for catch phrase on Thesaurus.com

noun

a phrase that attracts or is meant to attract attention.
a phrase, as a slogan, that comes to be widely and repeatedly used, often with little of the original meaning remaining.

Origin of catch phrase

First recorded in 1840–50; catch(word) + phrase

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for catchphrase

jingle, slogan

Examples from the Web for catchphrase

Contemporary Examples of catchphrase

She has a t-shirt that says “Fetch,” the catchphrase from Mean Girls!
Lindsay Lohan’s Reality Show Is the Most Stressful Thing on TV
Kevin Fallon
March 10, 2014
The mother of five frantically jumps from one argument to the next as if playing a high stakes game of Catchphrase.
Meet the Anti-Pot Activists
Abby Haglage
January 31, 2014
Tim Gunn came back from being a catchphrase robot to a thoughtful mentor offering informed critiques of work in progress.
How 'Project Runway' Made it Work
Andy Dehnart
July 27, 2011
However, I do object to bacon as catchphrase, as fad, as arena for testosterone-fueled competition.
'Bacon Tastes Good, Get Over It'
Julie Powell
May 15, 2009

Historical Examples of catchphrase

And when a man wants to talk like that "how-do-you-do" is as good a catchphrase as the next to keep his tongue discreet.
Sally of Missouri
R. E. Young

British Dictionary definitions for catchphrase

catch phrase

noun

a well-known frequently used phrase, esp one associated with a particular group, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for catchphrase

also catch-phrase, 1837, from catch (v.) + phrase (n.). The notion is of words that will "catch" in the mind (cf. catchword).