Thesaurus results for PHRASES

phrases 1 of 2

noun

plural of phrase

as in idioms

a sequence of words having a specific meaning kids drawing literal representations of the phrase "to rain cats and dogs"

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phrases

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of phrase

as in words

to convey in appropriate or telling terms he had trouble thinking of how to phrase his question for the visiting dignitary

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of phrases

Noun

These kinds of phrases are grounding and can help contain some of that anxiety. — Gili Malinsky, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026 Each language includes more than 2,500 words and phrases across more than 60 topics. — Stackcommerce Team, PC Magazine, 14 Oct. 2026 Deepening the flavor of place and time, the evening is peppered with Spanish phrases, interjections, exclamations and homilies. — Bill Hirschman, Sun Sentinel, 13 Oct. 2026 These songbirds, which gave long phrases and haunting melodies in spring, are much more subdued this time of year. — Sheryl Devore, Chicago Tribune, 13 Oct. 2026 Stepping into the band’s lead guitarist role was Nick Johnston, a forceful presence delivering crisp musical phrases that could be fittingly elegant or snarling. — Steve Appleford, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026 Brands built their product content around those phrases, and whoever optimized best for them won the traffic. — Usman Ilyas, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2026 As Kamphoff repeated these phrases during her race, her pace picked up. — Lennon Sherburne, NPR, 3 Oct. 2026 For athletes who are conditioned by cue words or phrases, the effect might be even greater. — Rustin Dodd, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2026

Verb

Those fake apps were designed to steal 12- and 24-word cryptocurrency wallet recovery phrases. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 23 Sep. 2026 Like many workplace phrases, its meaning depends on context, relationship and power. — Benjamin Laker, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026 Because Survivor 42 followed the same format with all the exact same twists from Survivor 41—Prisoner's Dilemma, goofy phrases, Hourglass twist, Shot in the Dark, Do or Die—along with many of the same challenges, the entire season often felt like a rerun. — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 22 May 2026 To this day, people come up to him and quote phrases his character used to utter. — Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025 In essence, the Iowa and West Virginia sports cases ask the court to rule whether a transgender girl – a person assigned male at birth who has transitioned to align with their identity as a girl or woman, as the AP Stylebook phrases it – is a girl or a boy. — Morgan Marietta, The Conversation, 2 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for phrases

Noun

There are always critics in all idioms whose goal is writing about something much bigger using a review to get there.

— Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
Cinema is, after all, a language, and Belgian filmmakers come from a country built on the need to understand language as a bridge—between its regions, its people, and its idioms.

— Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of idioms

Verb

That the first foreign policy message after the victory went to Moscow, and through a Russian state outlet, says a good deal about where the new government’s instincts lie.

— Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 27 Oct. 2026
Because food can be scarce there and people fear theft, individuals will store rice in their dirt-floor homes, Wagner says, allowing close contact with the rats that infest the island.

— Faye Flam, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of says

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phraseology

phrases

phrasing

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“Phrases.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phrases. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of phrases

noun

verb

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