phrase
A short written or spoken expression.
Noun 4 meanings
A short written or spoken expression.
“I've made progress, but this is still, in Churchill's phrase, just "the end of the beginning."”
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.
“Holonyms: clause, sentence; phrasing, phraseology, turn of phrase; phrase-book; document, message; language; communication”
A small section of music in a larger piece.
A short individual motion forming part of a choreographed dance.
Verb 3 meanings
To express (an action, thought or idea) by means of particular words.
“I wasn't sure how to phrase my condolences without sounding patronising.”
To perform (a passage) with a particular phrasing.
To divide into melodic phrases.
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin phrasis (“diction”), from Ancient Greek φράσις (phrásis, “manner of expression”), from φράζω (phrázō, “to tell, express”).
Similar and opposite words
PHRASE at a glance
PHRASE has 6 letters and scores 11 points in Scrabble (P 3 + H 4 + R 1 + A 1 + S 1 + E 1) and 11 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #4,238 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.
Rhymes with phrase
All rhymesOne letter away
- PHRASY14
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