mot ‧ to /ˈmɒtəʊ $ ˈmɑːtoʊ/ BrE AmE noun ( plural mottos or mottoes ) [countable]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Italian ; Origin: 'word' ]
a short sentence or phrase giving a rule on how to behave, which expresses the aims or beliefs of a person, school, or institution:
‘Be prepared’ is the motto of the Boy Scouts.
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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’.