motto
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++mot·to /ˈmɒtəʊ $ ˈmɑːtoʊ/ noun (plural mottos or mottoes) [countable] SAYINGa short sentence or phrase giving a rule on how to behave, which expresses the aims or beliefs of a person, school, or institution 箴言，格言，座右铭 ‘Be prepared’ is the motto of the Boy Scouts. “时刻准备着”是童子军的格言。► see thesaurus at phrase
Examples from the Corpus
motto• The Mortimer family motto is inscribed above the door -- 'Humilitas'.• Try before you buy is a good motto.• "All my life, " said Sir Humphrey, "my motto has been 'aim high'."• Mind my own business, that's my motto.• But our motto is win with class, lose with class.• Brevity was always Britten's motto, as well as Verdi's.• The school's motto was 'Work hard and play hard'.• "Be prepared" is the motto of the Boy Scouts.• Peter remembered the motto he had chosen for the Emperor's Luck Casino in Emor.• That's the motto of car salesmen who have put up a gag board to amuse motorists.• In a rare public statement, the tough undercover soldiers - whose motto is Who Dares Wins - have apologised.Origin motto (1500-1600) Italian “word”mot·to nounChineseSyllable
a or Corpus short on sentence how a rule phrase giving
motto
mot‧to /ˈmɒtəʊ $ ˈmɑːtoʊ/
noun (plural mottos or mottoes) [countable]
‘Be prepared’ is the motto of the Boy Scouts.
▪ phrase a group of words that have a particular meaning when used together, or which someone uses on a particular occasion: What was the phrase he used to describe her? | I’ve never heard of the phrase before. | The President often used the phrase ‘War on terror’.
▪expression a fixed phrase which is used in a language and has a particular meaning: a colloquial expression (=an informal expression used in everyday spoken language) | The old-fashioned expression ‘in the family way’ means pregnant. | a common English expression | I was absolutely knackered, if you’ll pardon the expression (=used when you think someone might be offended by the words you have used).
▪idiom a group of words that has a special meaning which you cannot guess from the meanings of each separate word: ‘Under the weather’ is an idiom which means ‘ill’.
▪cliché a phrase that is boring and no longer original because people use it a lot: The phrase ‘at the end of the day’ has become a real cliché. | There is some truth in the old cliché that time is a great healer.
▪saying/proverb a well-known phrase that gives advice about life: Do you know the saying ‘A problem shared is a problem halved’? | There is an old Chinese proverb which states ‘A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step’.
▪slogan a short phrase that is easy to remember, especially one that is used in advertising: advertising slogans | Protesters were shouting anti-government slogans.
▪motto a phrase that expresses a person’s or organization’s beliefs and aims: The school motto was ‘Truth and Honour’.
mot‧to /ˈmɒtəʊ $ ˈmɑːtoʊ/
noun (plural mottos or mottoes) [countable] Date: 1500-1600
Language: Italian
Origin: 'word'
a short sentence or phrase giving a rule on how to behave, which expresses the aims or beliefs of a person, school, or institution:Language: Italian
Origin: 'word'
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