idiom
[noun]
Synonyms:
- phrase, expression, turn of phrase
- language, jargon, parlance, style, vernacular

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English Thesaurus: phrase, expression, idiom, cliché, saying/proverb, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

id‧i‧om /ˈɪdiəm/ noun
[Date: 1500-1600; Language: French; Origin: idiome, from Greek idioma 'personal way of expressing yourself', from idios; ⇒ idiot]

1. [countable] a group of words that has a special meaning that is different from the ordinary meaning of each separate word. For example, ‘under the weather’ is an idiom meaning ‘ill’.

2. [uncountable and countable] formal or technical a style of expression in writing, speech, or music that is typical of a particular group of people:
the new musical idiom

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

phrase a group of words that have a particular meaning when used together, or which someone uses on a particular occasion:
What was the phrase he used to describe her?
I’ve never heard of the phrase before.
The President often used the phrase ‘War on terror’.
expression a fixed phrase which is used in a language and has a particular meaning:
a colloquial expression (=an informal expression used in everyday spoken language)
The old-fashioned expression ‘in the family way’ means pregnant.
a common English expression
I was absolutely knackered, if you’ll pardon the expression (=used when you think someone might be offended by the words you have used).
idiom a group of words that has a special meaning which you cannot guess from the meanings of each separate word:
‘Under the weather’ is an idiom which means ‘ill’.
cliché a phrase that is boring and no longer original because people use it a lot:
The phrase ‘at the end of the day’ has become a real cliché.
There is some truth in the old cliché that time is a great healer.
saying/proverb a well-known phrase that gives advice about life:
Do you know the saying ‘A problem shared is a problem halved’?
There is an old Chinese proverb which states ‘A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step’.
slogan a short phrase that is easy to remember, especially one that is used in advertising:
advertising slogans
Protesters were shouting anti-government slogans.
motto a phrase that expresses a person’s or organization’s beliefs and aims:
The school motto was ‘Truth and Honour’.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

word a single group of letters that are used together with a particular meaning:
‘Casa’ is the Italian word for ‘house’.
I looked up the word in a dictionary.
name a word that you use for a particular thing, place, organization etc:
Iberia is the ancient name for the Spanish Peninsula.
What’s the name of that type of dog?
term a word or group of words that is used in a specific subject or area of language:
The medical term for losing your hair is ‘alopecia’.
People use the term ‘carbon footprint’ to talk about man’s polluting effect on the environment.
phrase a group of words that have a particular meaning when used together, or which someone uses on a particular occasion:
We don’t really have a phrase for ‘bon appétit’ in English.
Politicians keep using the phrase ‘family values’.
an Italian phrase book
expression a fixed phrase which is used in a language and has a particular meaning:
He uses a lot of obscure expressions that I don’t really understand.
What does the expression ‘wage slavery’ mean?
buzzword /ˈbʌzwɜːd $ -wɜːrd/ a word or group of words that people in a particular type of work or activity have started using a lot because they think it is important:
E-learning is the buzzword in educational publishing at the moment.
For anthropologists, ethnodiversity has been a buzzword for quite a while.
idiom /ˈɪdiəm/ a group of words that has a special meaning which you cannot guess from the meanings of each separate word:
‘Full of beans’ is an idiom which means feeling lively and energetic.
cliché /ˈkliːʃeɪ $ kliːˈʃeɪ/ a group of words that is used so often that it seems rather boring, annoying, or silly:
It’s a bit of a cliché, but good communication skills are the key to success.
the old movie cliché ‘we can’t go on meeting like this’
slang very informal words used especially by a particular group of people such as young people, criminals, or soldiers:
Grass is slang for marijuana.
prison slang
army slang
jargon words and phrases used in a particular profession or by a particular group of people, which are difficult for other people to understand – often used to show disapproval:
The instructions were full of technical jargon.
complicated legal jargon

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲