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.
He is third-generation in Winter Haven, in Polk County, and has the locution to prove it.
From Slate • Apr. 20, 2026
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 • Oct. 21, 2021
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
In “Going Nucular,” he discussed the use of “was like” by young people as a replacement for “says” or “said” — a modern-day locution that drives grammatical purists mad.
From Washington Post • Aug. 13, 2020
"She laughed till she nearly wetted the floor," I have heard a young woman in the country say, evidently using without thought a familiar locution.
From Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 3 Analysis of the Sexual Impulse; Love and Pain; The Sexual Impulse in Women by Ellis, Havelock
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.
