Phrases - Definitions from Dictionary.com

1 result for: Phrases

Browse Nearby Entries

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

phrase Audio Help (frāz) Pronunciation Key
n.

A sequence of words intended to have meaning.
1. A characteristic way or mode of expression.
2. A brief, apt, and cogent expression.
A word or group of words read or spoken as a unit and separated by pauses or other junctures.
Grammar Two or more words in sequence that form a syntactic unit that is less than a complete sentence.
Music A short passage or segment, often consisting of four measures or forming part of a larger unit.
A series of dance movements forming a unit in a choreographic pattern.

v. phrased, phras·ing, phras·es

v. tr.

To express orally or in writing: The speaker phrased several opinions.
To pace or mark off (something read aloud or spoken) by pauses.
Music
1. To divide (a passage) into phrases.
2. To combine (notes) in a phrase.

v. intr.

To make or render phrases, as in reading aloud.
Music To perform a passage with the correct phrasing.

[Latin phrasis, diction, from Greek, speech, diction, phrase, from phrazein, to point out, show; see g^whren- in Indo-European roots.]

phras'al adj., phras'al·ly adv.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Phrases

To learn more about Phrases visit Britannica.com

Browse Nearby Entries: