phrase

CEFRB1

/ˈfɹeɪ̯z/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A small group of words forming part of a sentence.

  2. 02

    verb

    To express something using particular words.

Examples

  • How is this phrase to be interpreted?

  • The phrase is meant to insult people.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
3

Also pronounced

  • /ˈfɹæɪ̯z/
  • /ˈfɹɛjz/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A small section of music in a larger piece.

  2. A word or, more commonly, a group of words that functions as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence, always containing an expressed or implied head (the principal word or subgroup, with core importance) and often consisting of a head plus some other elabor...

  3. A short written or spoken expression.

More examples

In context

  • You can omit the preposition in this phrase.

  • Holonyms: clause, sentence; phrasing, phraseology, turn of phrase; phrase-book; document, message; language; communication

  • I've made progress, but this is still, in Churchill's phrase, just "the end of the beginning."

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The teacher asked the student to underline the key blank in the given sentence.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

Borrowed from Late Latin phrasis (“diction”), from Ancient Greek φράσις (phrásis, “manner of expression”), from φράζω (phrázō, “to tell, express”).