phrase marker

or phrase-marker

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noun Linguistics.

(in generative grammar) a representation of the constituent structure of a sentence, using a tree diagram or labeled bracketing.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of phrase marker

First recorded in 1960–65

Words nearby phrase marker

phrasal, phrasal verb, phrase, phrase book, phrasemaker, phrase marker, phrasemonger, phraseogram, phraseograph, phraseologist, phraseology

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use phrase marker in a sentence

This same outlet worked the phrase “engagement to toyboy lover” into the headline of their article on Fry.
Freaking Out About Age Gaps in Gay Relationships Is Homophobic|Samantha Allen|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In 2007, Huckabee said he stood by these earlier remarks, but would phrase them differently.
The Devil in Mike Huckabee|Dean Obeidallah|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Jett sees this number as a marker of how much the president allows professionals to do the job.
U.S. Embassies Have Always Been for Sale|William O’Connor|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Some pilots consider the infrared marker to be crucial to the close air-support mission to support ground troops.
Newest U.S. Stealth Fighter ‘10 Years Behind’ Older Jets|Dave Majumdar|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST

I admit, I chuckled when I read the phrase “boomtown effects” in the New York report.
New York’s Conservative Fracking Ban|Jay Michaelson|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
No one ever argued with Levison; all understood that this particular phrase was final.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
He was guilty of the weakness of taking refuge in what is called, I believe, in legal phrase, a side-issue.
Confidence|Henry James
It seeks the shortest phrase or sentence and adds successively all the modifiers, making no omissions.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
Even if this colour scheme will not work, there is still a justification for the Asquithian phrase.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, November 3, 1894|Various
Here the “c” is hard and represents 7, and as the steamboat could easily outrun the “scow,” the phrase is easily remembered.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)

British Dictionary definitions for phrase marker

phrase marker

noun

linguistics a representation, esp one in the form of a tree diagram, of the constituent structure of a sentence

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012