phrase-structure rule

noun Linguistics.

a rule that generates a sentence or other syntactic construction from words and phrases and identifies its constituent structure.

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anchorite
a granular metamorphic rock.
a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.
a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.
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Compare rewrite rule.

Words nearby phrase-structure rule

phrase book, phrase marker, phrase structure, phrase structure tree, phrase-structure grammar, phrase-structure rule, phrasemaker, phrasemonger, phraseogram, phraseograph, phraseologist
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British Dictionary definitions for phrase-structure rule

phrase-structure rule

noun

generative grammar a rule of the form A → X where A is a syntactic category label, such as noun phrase or sentence, and X is a sequence of such labels and/or morphemes, expressing the fact that A can be replaced by X in generating the constituent structure of a sentenceAlso called: rewrite rule Compare transformational rule
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