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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Brig is in the Upper Valais, a gaunt and conservative place where the inhabitants speak Walliser German, an Alpine dialect that many Swiss people find unintelligible.—
Sam Knight,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
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The contemporary entertainment industry pushes that logic into nearly grotesque territory, as film and TV productions compete against 24/7 internet feeds and a rapidly changing meme dialect designed to always leave someone out of the loop.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
31 May 2026
Noun
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Voibe uses OpenAI’s latest Whisper model to transcribe speech into text up to three times faster than typing while maintaining strong accuracy with natural speech, accents, and technical terminology.—
StackCommerce Team,
PC Magazine,
6 June 2026
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Tiny stuff, that no one except insiders would notice—shuttle cockpit switch positions, authentic uniform patches, terminology.—
Eric Berger & Lee Hutchinson,
ArsTechnica,
31 May 2026
Noun
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The titular bear, who communicates with the girl through language—seemingly telepathic—plays a crucial role in her survival.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
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The term English learners is defined by the Illinois State Board of Education as students who do not meet certain English proficiency standards and whose home language background is a language other than English.—
Addison Wright,
Chicago Tribune,
8 June 2026
Noun
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The Suez Canal incident of March 2021 revealed the same pattern in a different idiom.—
Dr. Aditya Vikram Kashyap,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
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Probably because at the time many of the time signatures and chordal progressions that Miles used were over the head of a young guitar player still functioning in the blues and folk idioms.—
Steve Baltin,
Los Angeles Times,
25 May 2026
Noun
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Before that first experience in 2016, ‘ayahuasca’ wasn't a part of my vocabulary.—
Michaela Trimble,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 June 2026
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Developing a reading habit can broaden vocabulary, boost knowledge and stimulate the imagination.—
Sneha Dhandapani,
CNN Money,
6 June 2026
Noun
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How did the name Go-Go being used as slang for parties come about?—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
11 May 2026
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The home was dubbed Snowman in honor of Bryan’s late brother, Chris, who earned the nickname from the golf slang for a score of eight on an individual hole.—
Katie Schultz,
Architectural Digest,
16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Colloquialism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colloquialism. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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