Colloquialism
/kəˈloʊ.kwi.əˌlɪz.əm/ noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A colloquial word or phrase; a common spoken expression. countable, uncountable
"Before embarking on her trip, Kaefer expected to find a pan-Antarctic vocabulary, but quickly discovered there were distinct colloquialisms within each station."
- 2 a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech wordnet
- 3 A colloquial manner of speaking. countable, uncountable
"The differences between slang, colloquialism and jargon are not clear-cut."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"Before embarking on her trip, Kaefer expected to find a pan-Antarctic vocabulary, but quickly discovered there were distinct colloquialisms within each station."
Etymology
From colloquial + -ism.