slo ‧ gan /ˈsləʊɡən $ ˈsloʊ-/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Scottish Gaelic ; Origin: sluagh-ghairm 'army cry' ]
a short phrase that is easy to remember and is used in advertisements, or by politicians, organizations etc ⇨ catchphrase :
an advertising slogan
demonstrators shouting political slogans
the Democrats’ campaign slogan
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COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + slogan
▪ a campaign/election slogan
His campaign slogan was ‘Peace, stability and prosperity’.
▪ a political slogan
The walls had political slogans daubed on them.
▪ an advertising slogan
The company has dropped its original advertising slogan.
▪ a catchy slogan (=one that is easily remembered)
The Liberal Democrats were searching for a more catchy slogan.
▪ a snappy slogan (=one that is short and effective)
They’ve come up with a good, snappy slogan for the product.
▪ an empty slogan (=a slogan that promises something which is not actually done)
We want real progress, not just empty slogans.
■ verbs
▪ shout slogans
Five youths were arrested after shouting anti-government slogans.
▪ chant slogans (=repeat slogans in a regular way)
Dozens of demonstrators waved banners and chanted slogans.
▪ bear a slogan (=have a slogan printed on something)
a badge bearing a campaign slogan
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THESAURUS
▪ phrase a group of words that have a particular meaning when used together, or which someone uses on a particular occasion:
What was the phrase he used to describe her?
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I’ve never heard of the phrase before.
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The President often used the phrase ‘War on terror’.
▪ expression a fixed phrase which is used in a language and has a particular meaning:
a colloquial expression (=an informal expression used in everyday spoken language)
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The old-fashioned expression ‘in the family way’ means pregnant.
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a common English expression
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I was absolutely knackered, if you’ll pardon the expression (=used when you think someone might be offended by the words you have used) .
▪ idiom a group of words that has a special meaning which you cannot guess from the meanings of each separate word:
‘Under the weather’ is an idiom which means ‘ill’.
▪ cliché a phrase that is boring and no longer original because people use it a lot:
The phrase ‘at the end of the day’ has become a real cliché.
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There is some truth in the old cliché that time is a great healer.
▪ saying/proverb a well-known phrase that gives advice about life:
Do you know the saying ‘A problem shared is a problem halved’?
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There is an old Chinese proverb which states ‘A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step’.
▪ slogan a short phrase that is easy to remember, especially one that is used in advertising:
advertising slogans
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Protesters were shouting anti-government slogans.
▪ motto a phrase that expresses a person’s or organization’s beliefs and aims:
The school motto was ‘Truth and Honour’.