ENGLISH
REFERENCE

phrases

n. countable
A2 Elementary US //ˈfɹeɪzəz// UK //fɹˈeɪzɪz// phras·es

n. a small group of words that work together to express a single idea. They are usually shorter than a full sentence and do not have a subject and a verb working together.

n. a small group of words standing together as a conceptual unit, typically forming a component of a clause. In linguistics, it refers to a constituent that functions as a single grammatical unit within a sentence.


SIMPLE

She learned several common phrases before her trip to Italy.

CONTEXTUAL

The textbook includes a list of useful phrases for ordering food and asking for directions in a foreign city.

COMPLEX

While the individual words were simple, the idiomatic phrases used by the speaker proved difficult for the translation software to interpret accurately.

Synonyms
Usage

Commonly used to refer to fixed expressions or grammatical constituents like noun phrases and prepositional phrases.

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