Definition of phrasenext
as in idiom
a sequence of words having a specific meaning kids drawing literal representations of the phrase "to rain cats and dogs"

Synonyms & Similar Words

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phrase

2 of 2

verb

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of phrase
Noun
The phrase stuck with Zauner and eventually became the title of the memoir. — Alicia Urrea, Billboard, 17 Sep. 2026 The Grammy Award winner also has the phrase tattooed on her back, along with a rose. — Anna Halkidis, Parents, 17 Sep. 2026
Verb
Disputes accumulate on talk pages over phrasing, sourcing, whether a subject belongs at all, with many never resolving. — Carson Griffith, New Yorker, 30 July 2026 The research team also found troubling racial disparities when officers used language reserved for serious suspicions — like phrasing implying commands or accusations — when the reason for the stop was relatively minor. — Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 17 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for phrase
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phrase
Noun
  • The first Velvet Underground album, the mid-period Beatles, Kinks, and Creedence Clearwater Revival records, with enough time, seem almost like different components to the same idiom.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Cinema is, after all, a language, and Belgian filmmakers come from a country built on the need to understand language as a bridge—between its regions, its people, and its idioms.
    — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • With all that said, there are still a lot of pleasures in this production that remain failsafe, even after the ride toward a way-too-inevitable outcome is firmly on its tracks.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 24 Sep. 2026
  • On the living-room table was a giant bowl filled with cigarette butts, which Beck said was for an art project.
    — Josephine Reisman, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • The core collection of the Glenlivet consists of a few age-statement expressions (12, 14, and 15-year-old), as well as some NAS whiskies.
    — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 23 Sep. 2026
  • The Paris flagship is one of the first expressions of that more cohesive brand identity.
    — Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 23 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • People use it constantly, for meetings, drafts, code, decisions that used to take longer and even for figuring out how to word a response to a difficult colleague.
    — Adrian Carr, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2026
  • That being said, neither of their statements seemed as strongly worded as UEFA’s and focused on not being consulted rather than the substance of the proposal.
    — Patrick Sung Cuadrado, CNN Money, 29 July 2026
Verb
  • The statement said el-Sisi expressed support for a deal to resolve the Iranian crisis and ensure the freedom of shipping navigation.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Paxton had argued that the law-school clinic was not a classroom but a workplace, and that Fisher was punished not for expressing political views but because her cursing and volume had disrupted clinic business.
    — Benjamin Wofford, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Phrase.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phrase. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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