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Synonyms

lexeme

American  
[lek-seem] / ˈlɛk sim /

noun

Linguistics.

  1. a lexical unit in a language, as a word or base; vocabulary item.

lexeme British  
/ ˈlɛksiːm /

noun

  1. linguistics a minimal meaningful unit of language, the meaning of which cannot be understood from that of its component morphemes. Take off (in the senses to mimic, to become airborne, etc) is a lexeme, as well as the independent morphemes take and off

"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

Etymology

Origin of lexeme

1935–40; lex(ical) or lex(icon) + -eme

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.

But the reader does not wish to grab the blunt cudgel of a weaponized lexeme, I sense, and so I suggest a quaint euphemism.

From Slate • Oct. 15, 2014

But today The Fiver finds itself in need of a new collective term, some apt lexeme to describe an assemblage of football icons who all retire at the same time.

From The Guardian • May 17, 2013

That same year, giving voice to the lexeme was enough to get 19-year-old Emily Parr thrown out of the Big Brother house.

From The Guardian • Jan. 14, 2013

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.