as in slogan
a word or phrase that is used repeatedly and conveniently to represent or characterize a person, group, idea, or point of view
a catchword that appeared in every campaign ad
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Recent Examples of catchword
The catchwords seem too simple, too reductive, to speak to the nature of his expansive, unsummarizable theorizing.
—
Literary Hub, 23 May 2025
What begins as a low-energy list of jokes poking fun at Deborah’s bad parenting, each ending with a recurring line in which DJ calls her mom the C-word, morphs into a star-making performance for the amateur stand-up comic — with her crass refrain becoming a crowd-pleasing catchword.
—Tyler Coates, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 June 2024
And there will be more games like that this season, until consistency and cohesion become reality and not just catchwords.
—Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2023
Reliability has become the catchword for Texas’ electric industry since February 2021.
—Dallas News, 18 Aug. 2022
Said to be a mashup of the words snowy and neckdown, the catchphrase or catchword was reportedly popularized via Twitter in 2014.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2022
Narcissism has become a catchword to describe pretty much anyone who's vain, self-obsessed, and craves the spotlight.
—Health.com, 20 Apr. 2021
Fueled by international competition and the reality of robust economic expansion in many nations, growth had quickly become the catchword of the day in economics departments and government bureaucracies.
—Christopher F. Jones, The New Republic, 1 Oct. 2019
Now, in the era of Deng Xiaoping with reform the catchword, politics seemed muddled and mixed up in a new way, and Li was acquiring a name as a conservative.
—The Economist, 25 July 2019
Literary Hub, 23 May 2025
What begins as a low-energy list of jokes poking fun at Deborah’s bad parenting, each ending with a recurring line in which DJ calls her mom the C-word, morphs into a star-making performance for the amateur stand-up comic — with her crass refrain becoming a crowd-pleasing catchword.
—Tyler Coates, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 June 2024
And there will be more games like that this season, until consistency and cohesion become reality and not just catchwords.
—Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2023
Reliability has become the catchword for Texas’ electric industry since February 2021.
—Dallas News, 18 Aug. 2022
Said to be a mashup of the words snowy and neckdown, the catchphrase or catchword was reportedly popularized via Twitter in 2014.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2022
Narcissism has become a catchword to describe pretty much anyone who's vain, self-obsessed, and craves the spotlight.
—Health.com, 20 Apr. 2021
Fueled by international competition and the reality of robust economic expansion in many nations, growth had quickly become the catchword of the day in economics departments and government bureaucracies.
—Christopher F. Jones, The New Republic, 1 Oct. 2019
Now, in the era of Deng Xiaoping with reform the catchword, politics seemed muddled and mixed up in a new way, and Li was acquiring a name as a conservative.
—The Economist, 25 July 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for catchword
Noun
-
Instead, it’s funneled into systems that are long on slogans and short on accountability.—
Jennifer Nassour,
Boston Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Young people, their faces covered by masks, circulated through traffic and on sidewalks, chanting political slogans.—
Davood Moradian,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Our school motto was Faites vos désirs réalités.—
Hari Kunzru,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Inter Miami’s club motto is an aspirational call to action that the club’s co-founder, Jorge Mas, often points to as the foundation of the MLS side’s ambition.—
Felipe Cardenas,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Catchword.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catchword. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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