PHRASE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does phrase mean? 

• PHRASE (noun)
  The noun PHRASE has 4 senses:

1. an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence

2. a short musical passage

3. an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up

4. dance movements that are linked in a single choreographic sequence

  Familiarity information: PHRASE used as a noun is uncommon.

• PHRASE (verb)
  The verb PHRASE has 2 senses:

1. put into words or an expression

2. divide, combine, or mark into phrases

  Familiarity information: PHRASE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PHRASE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("phrase" is a kind of...):

construction; expression; grammatical construction (a group of words that form a constituent of a sentence and are considered as a single unit)

Meronyms (parts of "phrase"):

head word; headword (a content word that can be qualified by a modifier)

modifier; qualifier (a content word that qualifies the meaning of a noun or verb)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "phrase"):

nominal; nominal phrase; noun phrase (a phrase that can function as the subject or object of a verb)

predicate; verb phrase (one of the two main constituents of a sentence; the predicate contains the verb and its complements)

prepositional phrase (a phrase beginning with a preposition)

pronominal; pronominal phrase (a phrase that functions as a pronoun)

response (a phrase recited or sung by the congregation following a versicle by the priest or minister)

catch phrase; catchphrase (a phrase that has become a catchword)

Derivation:

phrasal (of or relating to or functioning as a phrase)

phrase (put into words or an expression)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A short musical passage

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

musical phrase; phrase

Hypernyms ("phrase" is a kind of...):

musical passage; passage (a short section of a musical composition)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "phrase"):

ligature ((music) a group of notes connected by a slur)

ostinato (a musical phrase repeated over and over during a composition)

Holonyms ("phrase" is a part of...):

air; line; melodic line; melodic phrase; melody; strain; tune (a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence)

Derivation:

phrasal (of or relating to or functioning as a phrase)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

idiom; idiomatic expression; phrasal idiom; phrase; set phrase

Hypernyms ("phrase" is a kind of...):

expression; locution; saying (a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations)

Domain member usage:

out of whack (out of balance or out of adjustment)

in the lurch (in a difficult or vulnerable position)

like clockwork (with regularity and precision)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "phrase"):

ruralism; rusticism (a rural idiom or expression)

Derivation:

phrasal (of or relating to or functioning as a phrase)

phrase (put into words or an expression)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Dance movements that are linked in a single choreographic sequence

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("phrase" is a kind of...):

dance; dancing; saltation; terpsichore (taking a series of rhythmical steps (and movements) in time to music)

Derivation:

phrasal (of or relating to or functioning as a phrase)

• PHRASE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they phrase    ... he / she / it phrases   
Past simple: phrased   
Past participle: phrased   
-ing form: phrasing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Put into words or an expression

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

articulate; formulate; give voice; phrase; word

Context example:

He formulated his concerns to the board of trustees

Hypernyms (to "phrase" is one way to...):

evince; express; show (give expression to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "phrase"):

ask (direct or put; seek an answer to)

lexicalise; lexicalize (make or coin into a word or accept a new word into the lexicon of a language)

dogmatise; dogmatize (state as a dogma)

formularise; formularize (express as a formula)

cast; couch; frame; put; redact (formulate in a particular style or language)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

phrase (an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence)

phrase (an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up)

phrasing (the manner in which something is expressed in words)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Divide, combine, or mark into phrases

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

phrase a musical passage

Hypernyms (to "phrase" is one way to...):

arrange; order; put; set up (arrange thoughts, ideas, temporal events)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

 Context examples 

“It's as good a phrase as another,” said Steerforth.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

“It is my phrase too,” I said stubbornly.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

She used the phrase—it was on her lips he had first heard it.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

I never have dined with you, sir: and I see no reason why I should now: till—Till what? You delight in half-phrases.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

A quibble arose concerning the phrase “break out.”

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

How this phrase thrilled through me!

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

"Well," said he, at last, "we've gone and done it, young fellah my lad." (This curious phrase he pronounced as if it were all one word—"young-fellah-me-lad.")

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A unit of speech such as, a word, suffix, phrase, or sentence.

(Linguistic Form, NCI Thesaurus)

A coded value specifying the words or phrases that best describe an entity and/or its context and content.

(Keyword Code, NCI Thesaurus)

Is it necessary for me to use any roundabout phrase?

(Emma, by Jane Austen)