phrase
Meanings
noun
- A short written or spoken expression.
- A word or, more commonly, a group of words that functions as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence, always containing an expressed or implied head (the principal word or subgroup, with core importance) and often consisting of a head plus some other elaborating words.
- A small section of music in a larger piece.
- A mode or form of speech; diction; expression.
- A short individual motion forming part of a choreographed dance.
verb
- To express (an action, thought or idea) by means of particular words.
- To perform (a passage) with a particular phrasing.
- To divide into melodic phrases.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin phrasis (“diction”), from Ancient Greek φράσις (phrásis, “manner of expression”), from φράζω (phrázō, “to tell, express”).
Synonyms
Related words
Derived words
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.