Synonyms of idiom

idiom

noun

ˈi-dē-əm 

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?"

Synonyms & Similar Words

• phrase
• expression
• term
• slogan
• motto
• figure of speech
• epithet
• cliché
• colloquialism
• locution
• expletive
• euphemism
• modernism
• shibboleth
• name
• byword
• watchword
• neologism
• provincialism
• vulgarism
• cry

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of idiom

This further underscored the symbiotic relationship between Humphreys and smooth jazz, an idiom not held in high regard by the person booking the concerts. —George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Mar. 2026

Those books introduced me to a vision of American teenage life and taught me the rhythms and idioms of American English, nuances that would later replace my Britishisms and shape my career as a journalist. —Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 17 Feb. 2026

Next to the particularities of place—the Midwest, the South—or enmeshed with it, are the particularities of language, of idiom, and ways of saying. —Literary Hub, 17 Feb. 2026

All's fair in love and war — an idiom that Cressida (second from left, played by Jessica Madsen) and her meddling mama would do well to remember while courting the Prince! —Sophie Dodd, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026