as in dialect
a word or phrase that is used mostly in informal speech; a colloquial expression
His English is very good, but he has trouble understanding certain colloquialisms.
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Recent Examples of colloquialism
Gestures, colloquialisms, facial expressions, local cuisine, and the like are not incidental to a tongue but constitute it; sometimes, to capture a word or phrase, in writing or in an algorithm, is to stamp out its meaning.
—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
16 Oct. 2025
What started out as an advertising slogan for Apple more than 15 years ago has morphed into somewhat of a modern day colloquialism: There should be an app for that.
—
Katherine Fung,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Aug. 2025
This could involve helping systems learn colloquialisms and proper usages of terms.
—
Kathy Kristof,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Mar. 2025
You would be forgiven for assuming this a playful colloquialism, perhaps revealing a tenderness to the hunt.
—
Cecilia Rodriguez,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for colloquialism
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
16 Oct. 2025
What started out as an advertising slogan for Apple more than 15 years ago has morphed into somewhat of a modern day colloquialism: There should be an app for that.
—
Katherine Fung,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Aug. 2025
This could involve helping systems learn colloquialisms and proper usages of terms.
—
Kathy Kristof,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Mar. 2025
You would be forgiven for assuming this a playful colloquialism, perhaps revealing a tenderness to the hunt.
—
Cecilia Rodriguez,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for colloquialism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colloquialism
Noun
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In our day, before there was the interweb, 30 to 40 interviews a week, promoting stuff back-to-back-to-back in all dialects and languages.
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Like every precocious rising star fluent in the dialect of bluster, Wembanyama talked big, too.
Noun
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Learning about their industry and its terminology would be a huge task for me.
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Every major technology shift creates terminology confusion.
Noun
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Eight groups challenged the department’s definition in court, representing nurse practitioners, therapists, speech language pathologists and more.
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Keep language simple, confirm times, and leave extra room between commitments.
Noun
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The best tended to use puns, literalization — turning an idiom into reality — and pedantic humor to delight and torment children in equal measures.
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That French idiom about having long teeth — les dents longues — can have negative connotations about a person’s ambitious streak.
Noun
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Operational Infrastructure The market is slowly finding a more honest vocabulary for what AI models actually are.
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Using data collected over years of painstaking observation, Elie discovered 11 core calls that make up the zebra finch vocabulary, such as calls for distress, hunger and saying hello.
Noun
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Benoit delights in language as much as her heroine, weaving Regency-era slang throughout and appending a chapter-by-chapter glossary of vulgarities.
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How did the name Go-Go being used as slang for parties come about?
Cite this Entry
“Colloquialism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colloquialism. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
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