as in phrase
a sequence of words having a specific meaning
the English idiom "how are you doing?" is our version of a greeting that in some other languages can be translated as "how are you going?"
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of idiom
Around 1945, tired of boisterous Chicago crowds, Muddy went electric, creating a whole new idiom of Chicago blues.
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Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 10 Nov. 2025
Though the idiom of abuse has changed, the critics are as hostile as ever, while their targets react only with curious torpor.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Music unites the interconnecting stories in this saga and expands its passions, with a sumptuous score by composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens that taps into a wide range of American styles, idioms and amalgams, even as the second act turns more dissonant.
—Frank Rizzo, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025
The history of labor struggle, infused with religious idioms, is a source of identity and values evident in everything from union meetings in churches to prayers on picket lines.
—The Conversation, 7 Oct. 2025
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for idiom
Noun
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But the book was almost called The Boys Have Each Other because that was kind of like the buzz phrase around the family.—
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The simplicity of the meme allowed young Korean children to repeat the phrase in English.—
Noun
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The cyber-pet also features a high-fidelity facial screen capable of thousands of expressions and concise text replies.—
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In the study, Yale School of Medicine, or YSM, researchers discovered elevated GLO1 levels in the brains of animals with excessive levels of cellular calcium, finding that the brain increased GLO1 expression as a protective mechanism to mitigate the effects of the calcium dysregulation.—
Cite this Entry
“Idiom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idiom. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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