as in proverb
a short sentence or phrase that expresses a rule guiding the behavior of a particular person or group
"Hope for the best and prepare for the worst" is my motto. The Scout motto is "Be prepared."
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Recent Examples of motto
Too seldom is the collective good even an afterthought, E Pluribus Unum a motto untranslated and ignored.
—
Rabbi Dan Levin, Sun Sentinel, 14 Apr. 2026
All of it makes the official motto of this place—the Treasure State—far more suitable as a moniker.
—Brad Japhe, Travel + Leisure, 12 Apr. 2026
The hope that this motto refers to is the hope of the resurrection – of life triumphing over death – as reflected in the golden cross.
—Mathew Schmalz, The Conversation, 9 Apr. 2026
The display, accompanied by the motto Growing America Since 1862, reportedly cost taxpayers $16,400.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 23 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for motto
Rabbi Dan Levin, Sun Sentinel, 14 Apr. 2026
All of it makes the official motto of this place—the Treasure State—far more suitable as a moniker.
—Brad Japhe, Travel + Leisure, 12 Apr. 2026
The hope that this motto refers to is the hope of the resurrection – of life triumphing over death – as reflected in the golden cross.
—Mathew Schmalz, The Conversation, 9 Apr. 2026
The display, accompanied by the motto Growing America Since 1862, reportedly cost taxpayers $16,400.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 23 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for motto
Recent Examples of Synonyms for motto
Noun
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What does the phrase squeaky bum time, the racehorse Devon Loch, and the Portuguese proverb ‘morrer na prais’ all have in common?—
Ian Irving,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 2026
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The rooms The old Japanese proverb ‘*kachou fuugetsu’—*which translates as ‘flower, bird, wind, moon’ evoking a sense of the transient beauty of nature—is a key concept at the hotel.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Necessity is the mother of invention, as the saying goes, and the existential problems that war presents often act as a stimulus to innovation.—
David Szondy
May 02,
New Atlas,
2 May 2026
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Grandma may be the queen of nonsensical sayings, but Dad is certainly the king of cheesy jokes.—
Hallie Milstein,
Southern Living,
2 May 2026
Noun
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At the building’s peak, five-foot-tall concrete letters spell out a hundred and three words of a speech delivered by Obama in Selma, Alabama, in 2015, on the fiftieth anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when John Lewis and other civil-rights activists were beaten at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge.—
Peter Slevin,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
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The aspiration gap, in other words, is not just a story about young adults falling behind their parents.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
3 May 2026
Noun
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But that maxim may not hold up this year.—
Sarah Min,
CNBC,
27 Apr. 2026
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But the maxim applies in a different way in the documentary Fork in the Road, which made its world premiere Saturday at the Sonoma International Film Festival in California’s wine country.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Andrea Riquier Among serious Fed-watchers, there’s an axiom that new central bank chairs usually face a crisis early in their term.—
Rachel Barber,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
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An axiom can also be accepted for plenty of other reasons, as Maddy put it — such as for its power to generate interesting theorems.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Max is one of the great composers of our time, and his work has a depth and emotional truth that has the potential to break our hearts.—
Ellise Shafer,
Variety,
29 Apr. 2026
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But a closer inspection reveals a more unsettled, human process of establishing truth.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Motto.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motto. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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