phrase

American  

[freyz] / freɪz /

noun

1. Grammar.

   1. a sequence of two or more words arranged in a grammatical construction and acting as a unit in a sentence.

   2. (in English) a sequence of two or more words that does not contain a finite verb and its subject or that does not consist of clause elements such as subject, verb, object, or complement, as a preposition and a noun or pronoun, an adjective and noun, or an adverb and verb.

2. Rhetoric. a word or group of spoken words that the mind focuses on momentarily as a meaningful unit and is preceded and followed by pauses.

3. a characteristic, current, or proverbial expression.

   a hackneyed phrase.

4. Music. a division of a composition, commonly a passage of four or eight measures, forming part of a period.

5. a way of speaking, mode of expression, or phraseology.

   a book written in the phrase of the West.

6. a brief utterance or remark.

   In a phrase, he's a dishonest man.

7. Dance. a sequence of motions making up part of a choreographic pattern.

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verb (used with object)

phrased, phrasing

1. to express or word in a particular way.

   to phrase an apology well.

2. to express in words.

   to phrase one's thoughts.

3. Music.

   1. to mark off or bring out the phrases of (a piece), especially in execution.

   2. to group (notes) into a phrase.

verb (used without object)

phrased, phrasing

1. Music. to perform a passage or piece with proper phrasing.

phrase British  

/ freɪz /

noun

1. a group of words forming an immediate syntactic constituent of a clause Compare clause noun phrase verb phrase

2. a particular expression, esp an original one

3. music a small group of notes forming a coherent unit of melody

4. (in choreography) a short sequence of dance movements

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verb

1. music to divide (a melodic line, part, etc) into musical phrases, esp in performance

2. to express orally or in a phrase

phrase Cultural  

1. A group of grammatically connected words within a sentence: “One council member left in a huff”; “She got much satisfaction from planting daffodil bulbs.” Unlike clauses, phrases do not have both a subject and a predicate.

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Related Words

Phrase, expression, idiom, locution all refer to grammatically related groups of words. A phrase is a sequence of two or more words that make up a grammatical construction, usually lacking a finite verb and hence not a complete clause or sentence: shady lane (a noun phrase); at the bottom (a prepositional phrase); very slowly (an adverbial phrase). In general use, phrase refers to any frequently repeated or memorable group of words, usually of less than sentence length or complexity: a case of feast or famine—to use the well-known phrase. Expression is the most general of these words and may refer to a word, a phrase, or even a sentence: prose filled with old-fashioned expressions. An idiom is a phrase or larger unit of expression that is peculiar to a single language or a variety of a language and whose meaning, often figurative, cannot easily be understood by combining the usual meanings of its individual parts, as to go for broke. Locution is a somewhat formal term for a word, a phrase, or an expression considered as peculiar to or characteristic of a regional or social dialect or considered as a sample of language rather than as a meaning-bearing item: a unique set of locutions heard only in the mountainous regions of the South.

Other Word Forms

• misphrase verb (used with object)
• unphrased adjective

Etymology

Origin of phrase

First recorded in 1520–30; (noun) back formation from phrases, plural of earlier phrasis, from Latin phrasis “diction, style” (plural phrasēs ), from Greek phrásis “diction, style, speech,” equivalent to phrá(zein) “to speak” + -sis -sis; (verb) derivative of the noun

Example Sentences

I want to return to one phrase from the IRS’ requirements for being designated as a tax-exempt nonprofit: “fostering national or international amateur sports competition.”

From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026

In the legal battle now before the court, the key disputed phrase is “subject to the jurisdiction.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

In a Nasa video, each of the astronauts distil the mission into a single phrase.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

The Egyptian phrase “he who keeps alive” translates as “sculptor.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

A musical phrase is actually a lot like a grammatical phrase.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

Related Words

• expression
• idiom
• motto
• phrasing
• remark
• saying
• slogan
• terminology
• utterance
• wording