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:
Employees there trade doomsday scenarios and how to prepare for them on a private Slack channel, and have come to embrace a motto they stick on their laptops: “Things will never be chill again.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
I tried to get the Music Center to make that the motto of the hall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Hours later, the new king met government ministers for an extraordinary council of state meeting, after which the 53-year-old announced he was taking on the royal family's motto "All for Norway".
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
"Both as head of state and a successful athlete, he was an outstanding representative of his country. He gave 'All for Norway'," Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf said, referring to Harald's royal motto.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
“You'll have your marvel and your motto, and take your place here.”
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
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
We’ve broken quietude in new ways, re-examined what we thought we knew, carried phrases as mottoes, or leverage.
From New York Times ● Sep. 24, 2021
Within the fury, he emphasized Schumann’s repetitive mottoes as obsessive shards that recurred like fenceposts in a nightmare landscape.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 9, 2019
“They are his mottoes and mantras and a lot of it is these stories that he has told us over time. It all really stuck with us.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2017
Family mottoes, touchstones, prayers of sorts, they boasted of honor and glory, promised loyalty and truth, swore faith and courage.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
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
One of Sheinbaum’s mottos: “Collaboration, coordination, without subordination. ... Sovereignty is not negotiable.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2025
“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
Granddad is the sort of person who has mottos.
From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart
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.
