catchword

[ kach-wurd ]

noun

1. a memorable or effective word or phrase that is repeated so often that it becomes a slogan, as in a political campaign or in advertising a product.
2. Also called headword, guide word. a word printed at the top of a page in a dictionary or other reference book to indicate the first or last entry or article on that page. Compare running head.
3. a device, used especially in old books, to assist the binder in assembling signatures by inserting at the foot of each page the first word of the following page.
4. keyword ( def 3 ).

catchword

/ ˈkætʃˌwɜːd /

noun

1. a word or phrase made temporarily popular, esp by a political campaign; slogan
2. a word printed as a running head in a reference book
3. theatre an actor's cue to speak or enter
4. the first word of a printed or typewritten page repeated at the bottom of the page preceding

Word History and Origins

Origin of catchword¹

First recorded in 1720–30; catch + word

Example Sentences

The idea that jazz has become a catchword for pomposity is painful for those of us who care deeply about this music.

From The Daily Beast

Whenever we take up a new idea as a crowd, we at once turn it into a catchword and a fad.

From Project Gutenberg

It used to be a catchword of naval correspondents that "submarine cannot fight submarine."

From Project Gutenberg

“Unclean,” he muttered, recalling a catchword of the world he gazed upon.

From Project Gutenberg

Despots obtain their mastery over the crowd by the sword: demagogues by the catchword.

From Project Gutenberg

A man who has done that has seen England--not the name or the map or the rhetorical catchword, but the thing.

From Project Gutenberg