slogan

noun

slo·​gan ˈslō-gən 

1

a

: a war cry especially of a Scottish clan

b

: a word or phrase used to express a characteristic position or stand or a goal to be achieved

2

: a brief attention-getting phrase used in advertising or promotion

Synonyms

• banner
• catchphrase
• cry
• shibboleth
• tagline
• watchword

Examples of slogan in a Sentence

within days, virtually everyone was familiar with the newest advertising slogan for that brand of soda

Recent Examples on the Web

The next day, just after sunset at a monument known as Salvador del Mundo, situated in a trafficked roundabout in the capital, some seventy feminist protesters stood with banners, chanting slogans about electoral fraud and Fascism. —Danielle MacKey, The New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2024

The line quickly became a feminist slogan and is used more broadly today. —Hadley Heath Manning, National Review, 31 Mar. 2024

Use it for slogans, taglines, and when highlighting key benefits to create marketing content that lingers in the minds of readers. 5. —Renae Gregoire, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024

Drew Barrymore is reviving the slogan T-shirt (again). —Michelle Lee, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024

From a bridge near campus, someone had hung a banner emblazoned with the slogans. —Christina Knight, The Atlantic, 23 Mar. 2024

Trump Media currently gets most of its revenue from Truth Social, its flagship platform where several upstart companies advertise their products, targeting Mr. Trump’s supporters and using slogans that are variations on America First or Make America Great Again. —Matthew Goldstein, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024

Nor did other displays of frustration, including a flood of photos of ballots spoiled with anti-Putin slogans posted on Russian social media. —Catherine Belton, Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2024

Public buses in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Norwalk and Glendale also will be draped with the anti-crime slogan. —Tony Saavedra, Orange County Register, 12 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

alteration of earlier slogorn, from Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm, from sluagh army, host + gairm cry

First Known Use

1513, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

slogan

noun

slo·​gan ˈslō-gən 

1

: a word or phrase that calls to battle

2

: a word or phrase used by a party, a group, or a business to attract attention

Etymology

from earlier slogorn "war cry, rallying cry," from Scottish Gaelic, the ancient language of Scotland, sluagh-gairm "army cry," from sluagh "army" and ghairm "call, cry"

Word Origin

The clans of Scotland were groups of related families that joined together, especially to defend against outsiders. In the old days these outsiders might be other clans, but usually they were the English to the south. When it was time to gather members of the clan for a battle, the Scots would shout the sluagh-gairm, which meant "army cry." It is made up of the Scottish Gaelic word sluagh, meaning "army," and ghairm, meaning "call, cry." This came into English as slogorn and later became slogan. At first slogan meant a "battle cry" or "rallying cry." Later it came to be used for "a motto or phrase used by a group to attract attention."