mantra
Americannoun
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mantras
plural
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Hinduism. a word or formula, as from the Veda, chanted or sung as an incantation or prayer.
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an often repeated word, formula, or phrase, often a truism.
If I hear the “less is more” mantra one more time, I'll scream.
noun
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Hinduism any of those parts of the Vedic literature which consist of the metrical psalms of praise
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Hinduism Buddhism any sacred word or syllable used as an object of concentration and embodying some aspect of spiritual power
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of mantra
Borrowed into English from Sanskrit around 1800–10
Explanation
A mantra is a motivating chant, like the “I think I can, I think I can” you repeat over and over to yourself on the last stretch of every marathon you run. A mantra is usually any repeated word or phrase, but it can also refer more specifically to a word repeated in meditation. Mantra comes from a Sanskrit word meaning a “sacred message or text, charm, spell, counsel.” The Indian spiritual leader Sri Sathya Baba said, “A pure thought from a pure heart is better than a mantra.” Meaning, a mantra is great and all, but really, pure intentions and genuine kindness mean more.
Vocabulary lists containing mantra
100 Words to Make You Sound Smart
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"Rogue Wave," Vocabulary from the short story
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On Your Mark, Get Set, Commence Your Life!
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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.
See Examples For:
It was a mantra coined by the tech giant Meta and used until 2012, which came to define the bad old days of social media running riot in a feeding frenzy of user data.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Sharma has a mantra she tells colleagues: “Clarity is kindness.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
"What day is today? I was chanting maha mantra inside," Sah said, adding that he believed more workers may be inside the tunnel.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
Nowadays, the value of “low-cost index funds” is a universal mantra on Wall Street.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
I felt silly saying it, but Dad’s mantra gave me courage.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
I was staring at my 61-year-old reflection as I repeated these mantras suggested by my new therapist SuzAnn, embarrassed at the idiocy although I lived alone in a small West L.A. guesthouse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Fans dressed in approximations of her floaty ballgowns and 1920s flapper dresses, hollering lyrics like mantras.
From BBC ● May 2, 2026
Ahead of the speeches, a choir sang as attendees photographed a large panel emblazoned with one of Jackson's mantras "keep hope alive."
From Barron's ● Mar. 6, 2026
“Proximity is power!” he wrote, quoting one of Robbins’s signature mantras, in a caption for the photo snapped at Mar-a-Lago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
I sat in the stands with headphones over my hijab and my eyes closed, focused on my mantras and my breathing.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
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.
