Synonyms word
word ▪ term ▪ phrase ▪ expression ▪ idiom
These are all words for a unit of language used to express something.
word a single unit of language that means something and can be spoken or written:
Do not write more than 200 words.
He uses a lot of long words.
term (rather formal) a word or phrase used as the name of something, especially one connected with a particular type of language:
technical/legal/scientific terms
‘Old man’ is a slang term for ‘father’.
phrase a group of words that have a particular meaning when used together:
Who coined the phrase ‘fake news’?
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.
expression a word or phrase:
He tends to use a lot of slang expressions that I’ve never heard before.
idiom a group of words whose meaning is different from the meanings of the individual words:
‘Let the cat out of the bag’ is an idiom meaning to tell a secret by mistake.
Patterns
a word/term for something
a new word/term/phrase/expression
a technical/colloquial word/term/phrase/expression
a slang word/term/phrase
an idiomatic phrase/expression
to use a(n) word/term/phrase/expression/idiom
to coin a(n) word/term/phrase/expression
a(n) word/term/phrase/expression/idiom means something