colloquialism
noun
col·lo·qui·al·ism
| \ kə-ˈlō-kwē-ə-ˌli-zəm
\
\
Definition of colloquialism
1a
: a colloquial expression
"Chicken out" is a colloquialism for "to lose one's nerve."
b
: a local or regional dialect expression
"Bodacious" originated as a Southern colloquialism.
2
: colloquial style
the appeal of the author's colloquialism
Examples of colloquialism in a Sentence
His English is very good, but he has trouble understanding certain colloquialisms.
Recent Examples on the Web
This exhibit starts with the abstract metaphor, or colloquialism, and works backwards. — Ray Mark Rinaldi, The Know, "There’s a pop-up art museum downtown that literally lets you walk in another Denverite’s shoes," 27 Aug. 2019 For generations, teachers of literature presented students with the American experiences of Roderick Usher’s paranoia, Huckleberry Finn’s colloquialism, Jay Gatsby’s ambition, Holden Caulfield’s disenchantment. — Matthew A. Watson, The Atlantic, "Teaching Toni Morrison," 13 Aug. 2019 Hare's innovations to the text are mostly subtle and cosmetic: trimming some of the monologues, adding a few modern colloquialisms to the dialogue and shifting the later events outside rather than inside. — Stephen Dalton, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Uncle Vanya': Theater Review," 31 July 2019 If nothing else, @amyklobuchar wins the first round of folksy colloquialisms that others might actually use. — Dave Orrick, Twin Cities, "Amy Klobuchar had 8 minutes, 16 seconds to speak to America. Here’s how she spent them.," 26 June 2019 Osama bin Laden reportedly dropped a few American colloquialisms right before 9/11. — Stephen A. Crockett Jr., The Root, "Don Trump Jr. Just Used the Word ‘Lit’ and I Feel Triggered," 27 June 2018 Buckley’s dialogue sounds like the witty combination of the vulgar and formal in Restoration comedy, but sprinkled into it — and one must assume this is deliberate — are modern colloquialisms. — John Vernon, New York Times, "Finding the Funny in 17th-Century History," 1 June 2018 Another challenge of interpretation is conveying the little things, jokes, slang terms or colloquialisms, that can get lost in the conversation. — Eli Meixler, Time, "Meet the 'Unsung Hero' Who Interpreted for President Trump During His 1-on-1 With Kim Jong Un," 13 June 2018 And in the case of Crikey steveirwini, a rare snail from northern Queensland, even the genus name honors Irwin, in the form of his favoured colloquialism. — Kevin Thiele, Smithsonian, "Why Scientists Name Species," 28 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'colloquialism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for colloquialism
colloquialism
noun
English Language Learners Definition of colloquialism
: a word or phrase that is used mostly in informal speech : a colloquial expression
See the full definition for colloquialism in the English Language Learners Dictionary
colloquialism
noun
col·lo·qui·al·ism
| \ kə-ˈlō-kwē-ə-ˌli-zəm
\
\
Kids Definition of colloquialism
: a word or expression used in or suited to familiar and informal conversation
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