as in phrase
a sequence of words having a specific meaning
the English idiom "how are you doing?" is our version of a greeting that in some other languages can be translated as "how are you going?"
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of idiom
As a substitute, the board selected local architect William Pereira, who, never fully at ease with a modernist idiom, hewed to the middlebrow tastes and conservative politics of California’s philanthropic parvenus.
—
Michaëla De Lacaze Mohrmann, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
Like fellow North Carolinians Wednesday and MJ Lenderman—local stars descended from the likes of Lucinda Williams and Drive By Truckers—Dowdy carves complex new visions into the idioms of his upbringing.
—Jenn Pelly, Time, 4 Dec. 2025
Sutsilvan, the smallest idiom, has just one school.
—Simon Akam, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
The way in which Scottish morsels and intangibles alike have managed to break their way through the train's windowed barrier, from idioms and folk tales to cans of Tennent's.
—Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for idiom
Michaëla De Lacaze Mohrmann, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
Like fellow North Carolinians Wednesday and MJ Lenderman—local stars descended from the likes of Lucinda Williams and Drive By Truckers—Dowdy carves complex new visions into the idioms of his upbringing.
—Jenn Pelly, Time, 4 Dec. 2025
Sutsilvan, the smallest idiom, has just one school.
—Simon Akam, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
The way in which Scottish morsels and intangibles alike have managed to break their way through the train's windowed barrier, from idioms and folk tales to cans of Tennent's.
—Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for idiom
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idiom
Noun
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Some ignited fireworks and others spoke from a bullhorn or spray-painted anti-ICE phrases on vehicles and an unoccupied guard booth.—
Emerson Clarridge
Updated March 5,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Mar. 2026
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These phrases often signal values rather than verifiable environmental outcomes.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The Olympics, after all, represent one of the last outlets for the expression of national pride.—
Steven P. Dinkin,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 Mar. 2026
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No one spoke, the children waiting for their turns looking eager yet patient, the faces of those who had made the journey taking on a mysterious expression.—
Yiyun Li,
New Yorker,
1 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Idiom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idiom. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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