/ freɪz; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
( grammar ) a group of words without a finite verb, especially one that forms part of a sentence. 'the green car' and 'on Friday morning' are phrases.
—see also noun phrase ➡ note at word
2.
a group of words which have a particular meaning when used together :
a memorable phrase
She was, in her own favourite phrase, 'a woman without a past'.
—see also catchphrase
3.
( music ) a short series of notes that form a unit within a longer passage in a piece of music
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IDIOMS
see coin verb , turn noun
■ verb
1.
[ vn ] phrase sth (as sth) to say or write sth in a particular way :
a carefully phrased remark
I agree with what he says, but I'd have phrased it differently.
Her order was phrased as a suggestion.
2.
[ v , vn ] to divide a piece of music into small groups of notes; to play or sing these in a particular way, especially in an effective way
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 16th cent. (in the sense style or manner of expression ): via late Latin from Greek phrasis , from phrazein declare, tell.