Library / English Dictionary

PHRASE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

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)

Sense 2

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 3

Meaning:

A short musical passage

Synonyms:

musical phrase; phrase

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

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 4

Meaning:

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

Synonyms:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

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)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Divide, combine, or mark into phrases

Example:

phrase a musical passage

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

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

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

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Put into words or an expression

Example:

He formulated his concerns to the board of trustees

Synonyms:

articulate; formulate; give voice; phrase; word

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

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)

Credits

 Context examples: 

It was about half past one—three bells in the sea phrase—that the two boats went ashore from the HISPANIOLA.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

If I pay him well, at least he delivers the goods, to use his own phrase.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

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

(Document Version Keyword Code, NCI Thesaurus)

She knew nothing of drawing—nothing of taste: and she listened to them with an attention which brought her little profit, for they talked in phrases which conveyed scarcely any idea to her.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

A character string of a word or phrase that describes the document and/or its context.

(Document Version Keyword, NCI Thesaurus)

A shortened form of a word or phrase.

(Abbreviation, NCI Thesaurus)

An article used to connect words, phrases, or clauses representing alternatives; used to connect alternative terms for the same thing; used in correlation; used to correct or rephrase what was previously said; otherwise.

(Or, NCI Thesaurus)

A mind-body practice in which a person focuses his or her attention on something, such as an object, word, phrase, or breathing, in order to minimize distracting or stressful thoughts or feelings.

(Meditation, NCI Dictionary)

I abhor every common-place phrase by which wit is intended; and 'setting one's cap at a man,' or 'making a conquest,' are the most odious of all.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

A concise explanation of the meaning of a word or phrase or symbol.

(Definition, NCI Thesaurus)