A particular idiom is a particular style of something such as music, dance, or architecture.
[formal]
McCartney was also keen to write in a classical idiom, rather than a pop one.
It was an old building in the local idiom.
2. countable noun
An idiom is a group of words which have a different meaning when used together from the one they would have if you took the meaning of each word separately.
[technical]
Proverbs and idioms may become worn with over-use.
She is, in fact, a perfect illustration of the French idiom 'to be comfortable inone's own skin.'
Synonyms: phrase, expression, turn of phrase, locution More Synonyms of idiom
3. uncountable noun
Idiom of a particular kind is the language that people use at a particular time or in a particular place.
[formal]
And nothing was so irritating as the confident way he used archaic idiom.
...her command of the Chinese idiom.
More Synonyms of idiom
idiom in British English
(ˈɪdɪəm)
noun
1.
a group of words whose meaning cannot be predicted from the meanings of the constituent words, as for example (It was raining) cats and dogs
2.
linguistic usage that is grammatical and natural to native speakers of a language
3.
the characteristic vocabulary or usage of a specific human group or subject
4.
the characteristic artistic style of an individual, school, period, etc
Derived forms
idiomatic (ˌɪdɪəˈmætɪk) or idiomatical (ˌidioˈmatical)
adjective
idiomatically (ˌidioˈmatically)
adverb
idiomaticalness (ˌidioˈmaticalness)
noun
Word origin
C16: from Latin idiōma peculiarity of language, from Greek; see idio-
idiom in American English
(ˈɪdiəm)
noun
1.
the language or dialect of a people, region, class, etc.
2.
the usual way in which the words of a particular language are joined together to express thought
3.
a phrase, construction, or expression that is recognized as a unit in the usage of a given language and either differs from the usual syntactic patterns or has a meaning that differs from the literal meaning of its parts taken together (Ex.: not a word did she say; she heard it straight from the horse's mouth)
4.
the style of expression characteristic of an individual
the idiom of Hemingway
5.
a characteristic style, as in art or music
Word origin
< Fr & LL: Fr idiome < LL idioma < Gr idiōma, peculiarity, idiom < idios: see idio-
Examples of 'idiom' in a sentence
idiom
And it would be a violation of English idiom to say was he?
Goshgarian, Gary Exploring language (6th edn) (1995)
It's an idiom that native English speakers adopt naturally.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
What the two men have in common is that they make dances in classical idiom - and they are the most in-demand choreographers today.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Chinese translation of 'idiom'
idiom
(ˈɪdɪəm)
n
(c) (= saying) 习(習)语(語) (xíyǔ) (个(個), gè)
(c/u) (frm, = style) 风(風)格 (fēnggé) (种(種), zhǒng)
Nearby words of
idiom
identity theft
ideological
ideology
idiom
idiot
idle
idle away
1 (noun)
Definition
a group of words which, when used together, have a different meaning from the one suggested by the individual words, eg it was raining cats and dogs
Proverbs and idioms may become worn with over-use.
Synonyms
phrase
the Latin phrase, `mens sana in corpore sano'
expression
He uses some remarkably coarse expressions.
turn of phrase
What a strange turn of phrase that is!
locution
`Sister boy' - that's an odd locution if ever there was one.
set phrase
2 (noun)
Definition
the characteristic vocabulary or usage of a person or group
I was irritated by his use of archaic idiom.
Synonyms
language
a booklet summarising it in plain language
talk
toddlers babbling on in baby talk
style
The author's style is wonderfully anecdotal.
usage
Certain words may not even be in modern usage.
jargon
full of the jargon and slang of self-improvement courses
vernacular
To use the vernacular of the day, Peter was square.
parlance
He is, in common parlance, a `sad loser'.
mode of expression
Additional synonyms
in the sense of expression
Definition
a particular phrase used conventionally to express something
He uses some remarkably coarse expressions.
Synonyms
phrase,
saying,
word,
wording,
term,
language,
speech,
remark,
maxim,
idiom,
adage,
choice of words,
turn of phrase,
phraseology,
locution,
set phrase
in the sense of jargon
Definition
specialized language relating to a particular subject, profession, or group
full of the jargon and slang of self-improvement courses
Synonyms
parlance,
slang,
idiom,
patter,
tongue,
usage,
dialect,
cant,
lingo (informal),
patois,
argot,
leetspeak, l33tspeak or 1337speak,
netspeak
in the sense of locution
Definition
a word, phrase, or expression
`Sister boy' - that's an odd locution if ever there was one.