an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence
"The teacher asked us to identify every prepositional phrase in the paragraph before submitting our homework."
a short musical passage
"The jazz pianist improvised a new phrase over the standard chorus that had everyone in the audience clapping along."
an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up
"When he said, "break a leg," I laughed because no one would ever actually wish someone to fracture their limb."
dance movements that are linked in a single choreographic sequence
"The jazz instructor broke down the routine into three distinct phrases, each representing a unique set of connected dance movements before transitioning to the next."
A short written or spoken expression.
"She smiled and recited her favorite phrase before taking the stage."
In plain English: A phrase is a group of words that work together to describe something but does not have a subject and a verb.
"She wrote down her favorite phrase in her journal."
Usage: Use "phrase" to describe a short group of words that functions as a single unit but does not contain both a subject and a verb, such as "in the morning." Do not use it for complete sentences or long paragraphs of text.
put into words or an expression
"He formulated his concerns to the board of trustees"
To express (an action, thought or idea) by means of particular words.
"The new slogan effectively phrases our commitment to sustainability in just three memorable words."
In plain English: To phrase something means to express your thoughts or feelings in specific words.
"She likes to phrase her requests politely so that people will say yes."
Usage: Use "phrase" as a verb when you are expressing an action, thought, or idea using specific words that fit the situation well. It is most often found in formal contexts where someone phrases a question carefully to ensure it is clear and polite.
The word "phrase" comes from the Late Latin phrasis, meaning "diction," which was borrowed from the Ancient Greek phrásis for "manner of expression." It originally referred to a specific way of speaking or telling something before evolving into its current sense.