phrase
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++phrase1 /freɪz/ ●●● S3 W3 noun [countable] 1 WORD, PHRASE, OR SENTENCEa group of words that have a particular meaning when used together, or which someone uses on a particular occasion 成语，习语；警句 Who first used the phrase ‘survival of the fittest’? “适者生存”这一说法最早是谁说的？ Shakespeare’s plays are full of well-known phrases. 莎士比亚的戏剧中写满了众所周知的名言警句。► see thesaurus at word2. technicalSLG a group of words without a finite verb, especially when they are used to form part of a sentence, such as ‘walking along the road’ and ‘a bar of soap’ 短语，词组 → clause(2), sentence1(1)3. APMa short group of musical notes that is part of a longer piece 乐句 → to coin a phrase at coin2(2), → a turn of phrase at turn2(11), → turn a phrase at turn1(20)n COLLOCATIONSadjectivesa famous/well-known phraseWe all hear the phrase "greenhouse gasses", but do you know what it really means?a memorable phraseWho was it who used that memorable phrase "a monumental error of judgement"?a colourful phrase (=interesting or rude)His conversation is full of colourful phrases.a well-turned phrase (=skilfully invented or chosen)She creates lifelike characters with a few well-turned phrases. THESAURUSphrase a group of words that have a particular meaning when used together, or which someone uses on a particular occasion 成语,习语；短语，词组What was the phrase he used to describe her? 他是用哪个短语形容她的？I’ve never heard of the phrase before. 我以前从未听说过这个习语。nThe president often used the phrase ‘War on terror’.expression a fixed phrase which is used in a language and has a particular meaning 短语；措辞a colloquial expression (=an informal expression used in everyday spoken language) 俗语,口语用语The old-fashioned expression ‘in the family way’ means pregnant. 旧习语 in the family way 意为“怀孕了”。na common English expressionnI 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 习语,成语,惯用语‘Under the weather’ is an idiom which means ‘ill’. ‘Under the weather’ 是习语,意思是“病了”。cliché a phrase that is boring and no longer original because people use it a lot 陈词滥调,陈腐的套语The phrase ‘at the end of the day’ has become a real cliché. 短语 at the end of the day 已经完全用滥了。nThere is some truth in the old cliché that time is a great healer.saying/proverb a well-known phrase that gives advice about life 谚语,格言Do you know the saying ‘A problem shared is a problem halved’? 你知道“问题两人担,困难减一半”这句格言吗？There is an old Chinese proverb which states ‘A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step’. 中国有句老话﹕“千里之行,始于足下。”slogan a short phrase that is easy to remember, especially one that is used in advertising 口号；标语advertising slogans 广告语Protesters were shouting anti-government slogans. 抗议者高呼反政府口号。motto a phrase that expresses a person’s or organization’s beliefs and aims 格言,座右铭,箴言The school motto was ‘Truth and Honour’. 这所学校的校训是“真理与荣誉”。
Examples from the Corpus
phrase• The Interpreter features excellent quality, digitised speech and over 13,000 phrases.• Similarly there is also a probability distribution over the ordering of items in a phrase.• There are some useful words and phrases at the end of each chapter in the Student's Book.• After each phrase she slurped saliva in through her teeth.• His campaign is, to use one of his favourite phrases, 'as dead as Elvis'.• Very often a student creates his first phrase and then finds himself at a loss.• I'm trying to learn some French phrases for my trip to Paris.• Motifs Composers have sometimes used a recurring motif or melodic phrase to establish the atmosphere of a piece.• "A bottle of whisky' is a noun phrase, and "really rather foolishly' is an adverb phrase.• The head of the bank described the salary cuts as 'peanuts', a turn of phrase which angered many bank workers.• Like title fights, the Super Bowl would need a catchy name or phrase that symbolizes the magnitude of the cosmic event.• The battle of El Alamein was, in Churchill's phrase, "the end of the beginning'.• Who first coined the phrase "Iron Curtain'?• I was criticized for using the phrase 'gay lifestyles'.• Are you familiar with the phrase "the old boy network'?• Darwin gave the world the phrase, "survival of the fittest."• The phrase 'a big black dog' is the subject of the sentence.phrase2 verb [transitive] 1 SAYto express something in a particular way 〔以某种方式〕表达，〔以某种措辞〕表述 Polly tried to think how to phrase the question. 波莉在思索这个问题怎么提。 Sorry, I phrased that badly. 抱歉，我表述得不好。2. APMto perform music in order to produce the full effect of separate musical phrases 〔演奏、歌唱时〕分句，划分乐句〔以充分表现每一乐句的效果〕→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
phrase• How was the question phrased?• Whether or not they can sing, all these players have a tremendous understanding of how to phrase.• The ways various denyers, bouncers, et al., can be phrased are always beyond count.• It could equally be phrased in a way that fits in more with the way of eminence.• The phrasing is ample and idiomatic, the sincerity is heartbreaking.• However, I would argue that it begs the question to phrase it in such a way.• But something was missing, politeness maybe. although the inquiries were phrased nicely, the interest seemed like condescension.• What makes you successful is that you can phrase things in a way that is inspirational, that makes coalitions possible.Origin phrase1 (1500-1600) Latin phrasis, from Greek, from phrazein “to point out, explain, tell”phrase1 noun →n COLLOCATIONS1 →THESAURUS1phrase2 verbLDOCE OnlineChinese
of words group particular Corpus that meaning a have used a when
phrase
phrase1 S3 W3 /freɪz/ 
noun [countable]
Who first used the phrase ‘survival of the fittest’?
Shakespeare’s plays are full of well-known phrases.
2. technical a group of words without a finite verb, especially when they are used to form part of a sentence, such as ‘walking along the road’ and ‘a bar of soap’ ⇨ clause(2), sentence1(1)
3. a short group of musical notes that is part of a longer piece
⇨ to coin a phrase at coin2(2), ⇨ a turn of phrase at turn2(11), ⇨ turn a phrase at turn1(20)
■ adjectives
▪a famous/well-known phrase We all hear the phrase "greenhouse gasses", but do you know what it really means?
▪a memorable phrase Who was it who used that memorable phrase "a monumental error of judgement"?
▪a colourful phrase (=interesting or rude) His conversation is full of colourful phrases.
▪a well-turned phrase (=skilfully invented or chosen) She creates lifelike characters with a few well-turned phrases.
▪ 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’.
phrase2 verb [transitive]
1. to express something in a particular way:
Polly tried to think how to phrase the question.
Sorry, I phrased that badly.
2. to perform music in order to produce the full effect of separate musical phrases
| I |
noun [countable] Date: 1500-1600
Language: Latin
Origin: phrasis, from Greek, from phrazein 'to point out, explain, tell'
1. a group of words that have a particular meaning when used together, or which someone uses on a particular occasion:Language: Latin
Origin: phrasis, from Greek, from phrazein 'to point out, explain, tell'
2. technical a group of words without a finite verb, especially when they are used to form part of a sentence, such as ‘walking along the road’ and ‘a bar of soap’ ⇨ clause(2), sentence1(1)
3. a short group of musical notes that is part of a longer piece
⇨ to coin a phrase at coin2(2), ⇨ a turn of phrase at turn2(11), ⇨ turn a phrase at turn1(20)
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verb [transitive]1. to express something in a particular way:
2. to perform music in order to produce the full effect of separate musical phrases
word a single unit of language which means sth and can be spoken or written 指单词、词、字 ：◆ Do not write more than 200 words. 写的东西不要超过 200 字。 ◆ He uses a lot of long words. 他使用了很多长词。 term ( a word or phrase used as the name of sth, especially one connected with a particular type of languagerather
指词语、术语、措辞 ：◆ technical/legal/scientific terms 专门／法律／科学用语 ◆ 'Old man' is a slang term for 'father'. * old man 为俚语，指父亲。 phrase a group of words which have a particular meaning when used together 指短语、词组、惯用法 ：◆ Who coined the phrase 'desktop publishing'? 谁创造了 desktop publishing（桌面出版）这个词组？ NOTE In grammar, a phrase is a group of words without a finite verb, especially one that forms part of a sentence: 'the green car' and 'on Friday morning' are phrases.在语法上，phrase 指不含限定动词、构成句子一部分的短语、词组，如 the green car 和 on Friday morning 均为词组。 expression a word or phrase 指词语、措辞、表达方式 ：◆ He tends to use a lot of slang expressions that I've never heard before. 他往往用许多我以前从未听说过的俚语。 idiom a group of words whose meaning is different from the meanings of the individual words 指习语、成语、惯用语 ：◆ 'Let the cat out of the bag' is an idiom meaning to tell a secret by mistake. * let the cat out of the bag（让猫从袋子里跑出来）为成语，意为无意中泄露秘密。
Patterns
a word/term for stha new word/term/phrase/expressiona technical/colloquial word/term/phrase/expressiona slang word/term/phrasean idiomatic phrase/expressionto use a(n) word/term/phrase/expression/idiomto coin a(n) word/term/phrase/expressiona(n) word/term/phrase/expression/idiom means sth
