motto
Americannoun
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mottoes,
plural
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mottos
plural
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a maxim adopted as an expression of the guiding principle of a person, organization, city, etc.
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a sentence, phrase, or word expressing the spirit or purpose of a person, organization, city, etc., and often inscribed on a badge, banner, etc.
noun
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a short saying expressing the guiding maxim or ideal of a family, organization, etc, esp when part of a coat of arms
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a short explanatory phrase inscribed on or attached to something
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a verse or maxim contained in a paper cracker
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a quotation prefacing a book or chapter of a book
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a recurring musical phrase
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of motto
1580–90; < Italian < Late Latin muttum sound, utterance. See mot
Compare meaning
How does motto compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A motto is a slogan or favorite saying, like "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." A motto is something you might see on a t-shirt or bumper sticker — a short sentence or phrase that has meaning for that person. Some mottoes have to do with politics, religion, or another belief. Sometimes People write their motto on a large banner or sign so others can see it. President John F. Kennedy's motto was “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Mottoes are similar to proverbs, slogans, and catchphrases.
Vocabulary lists containing motto
"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling
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Because of Winn-Dixie
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Divergent
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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:
“This has been my motto for the past year,” Levanon said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
“Coordination, not subordination,” Sheinbaum said Friday, reiterating a motto emphasizing that Mexico will not relinquish its sovereignty in response to U.S. pressure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
In 2020, “Ted Lasso” made us feel like that motto, “Believe,” was all we needed.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026
"We have lived long and endured for 60 years and going," he said, evoking the famous motto of Leonard Nimoy's Mr Spock.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
Her family’s motto was “sharing and caring,” and even in a community of active citizens, the Winstons distinguished themselves with their tireless service, religious devotion, and humanitarianism.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
The team writing the mottoes for next year’s batch of Sweethearts has already developed a new theme aimed at that demographic sweet spot.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 7, 2023
He has outfitted it with solar panels and inscribed it with positive mottoes, including “Always Be Compassion” scrawled across the hood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2022
There he prints by letterpress, in two colors, greeting cards that combine old etchings and engravings with famous mottoes and sayings.
From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 2022
She said it when I applied to every college I had seen mentioned in books—the ones with demure colors, Latin mottoes, things called quads.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 2, 2019
To its critics, the World Health Organization was an entangled, muddled bureaucracy that had two mottoes: “Slow down” and “It’s not our fault.”
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
That’s where her mottos come in — short, memorable phrases that condensed technique into a moment you could carry from the screen to your own kitchen.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2025
Other coaches could lose their players through meandering mottos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2024
“In adopting their mottos, symbols, and ethos on the field of friendly strife, we seek to emulate their application of these characteristics to defeat our rivals,” the school said.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 7, 2023
Rings engraved with French chivalric mottos were fashionable between 1400 and 1500.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2023
One of Hitler’s mottos was that the German woman does not smoke, does not drink, and does not paint herself with makeup.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
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.
