prepositional phrase

American  

noun

Grammar.

1. a phrase consisting of a preposition, its object, which is usually a noun or a pronoun, and any modifiers of the object, as in the gray desk I use.

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Etymology

Origin of prepositional phrase

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

But she points out that even when using an algorithm and controlling for prepositional phrases and the like, significant overlap occurs between the lists of most frequently used words in high-peace and low-peace countries.

From Scientific American

And I mistook a perfectly good English word, “rosé,” for the Polish prepositional phrase “o rosie,” which means “about the dew.”

From Washington Post

Then she claps her hands and starts talking about prepositional phrases.

From Literature

“Esmeralda,” she called in a musical voice, “would you please come up and mark the prepositional phrase?”

From Literature

At “young children,” she choked up and struggled into a prepositional phrase—“to at least three . . . ”—that she could not complete.

From The New Yorker