colloquialism


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Related to colloquialism: idiom

col·lo·qui·al·ism

 (kə-lō′kwē-ə-lĭz′əm)
n.
1. Colloquial style or quality.
2. A colloquial expression.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

colloquialism

(kəˈləʊkwɪəˌlɪzəm)
n
1. (Linguistics) a word or phrase appropriate to conversation and other informal situations
2. (Linguistics) the use of colloquial words and phrases
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

col•lo•qui•al•ism

(kəˈloʊ kwi əˌlɪz əm)

n.
1. a colloquial expression.
2. colloquial style or usage.
[1800–10]
col•lo′qui•al•ist, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

colloquialism

a word, phrase, or expression characteristic of ordinary or familiar conversation rather than formal speech or writing, as “She’s out” for “She is not at home.” — colloquial, adj.
See also: Language
-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech
firewall - (colloquial) the application of maximum thrust; "he moved the throttle to the firewall"
fix - something craved, especially an intravenous injection of a narcotic drug; "she needed a fix of chocolate"
heavy lifting - difficult work; "the boss hoped the plan would succeed but he wasn't willing to do the heavy lifting"
biz, game - your occupation or line of work; "he's in the plumbing game"; "she's in show biz"
no-brainer - anything that requires little thought
crapshoot - a risky and uncertain venture; "getting admitted to the college of your choice has become a crapshoot"
snogging - (British informal) cuddle and kiss
wash - any enterprise in which losses and gains cancel out; "at the end of the year the accounting department showed that it was a wash"
aggro - (informal British usage) aggravation or aggression; "I skipped it because it was too much aggro"
fun - violent and excited activity; "she asked for money and then the fun began"; "they began to fight like fun"
hell, sin - violent and excited activity; "they began to fight like sin"
dickeybird, dickey-bird, dickybird, dicky-bird - small bird; adults talking to children sometimes use these words to refer to small birds
bunny rabbit, bunny - (usually informal) especially a young rabbit
bib-and-tucker - an attractive outfit; "she wore her best bib-and-tucker"
delf - an excavation; usually a quarry or mine
funny wagon - an ambulance used to transport patients to a mental hospital
boom box, ghetto blaster - a portable stereo
stinker, lemon - an artifact (especially an automobile) that is defective or unsatisfactory
long johns - warm underwear with long legs
main drag - the main street of a town or city
put-put - a small gasoline engine (as on motor boat)
rathole - a small dirty uncomfortable room
rattrap - filthy run-down dilapidated housing
redbrick university - (British informal) a provincial British university of relatively recent founding; distinguished from Oxford University and Cambridge University
Ritz - an ostentatiously elegant hotel
security blanket - anything that an adult person uses to reduce anxiety
shooting gallery - a building (usually abandoned) where drug addicts buy and use heroin
Sunday best, Sunday clothes - the best attire you have which is worn to church on Sunday
war paint - full ceremonial regalia
smoke - something with no concrete substance; "his dreams all turned to smoke"; "it was just smoke and mirrors"
class - elegance in dress or behavior; "she has a lot of class"
setup - the way something is organized or arranged; "it takes time to learn the setup around here"
guts, moxie, backbone, grit, gumption, sand - fortitude and determination; "he didn't have the guts to try it"
way - the property of distance in general; "it's a long way to Moscow"; "he went a long ways"
number - a clothing measurement; "a number 13 shoe"
enormity - vastness of size or extent; "in careful usage the noun enormity is not used to express the idea of great size"; "universities recognized the enormity of their task"
drag - something tedious and boring; "peeling potatoes is a drag"
hot stuff, voluptuousness - the quality of being attractive and exciting (especially sexually exciting); "he thought she was really hot stuff"
eye, oculus, optic - the organ of sight
peeper - an informal term referring to the eye
proboscis - the human nose (especially when it is large)
physiognomy, visage, smiler, kisser, phiz, countenance, mug - the human face (`kisser' and `smiler' and `mug' are informal terms for `face' and `phiz' is British)
can of worms - a source of unpredictable trouble and complexity
hang-up - an emotional preoccupation
think - an instance of deliberate thinking; "I need to give it a good think"
crosshairs - a center of interest; "the war on terrorism has put Saddam Hussein in the crosshairs"
turn-on - something causing excitement or stimulating interest
negative stimulation, turnoff - something causing antagonism or loss of interest
plague - an annoyance; "those children are a damn plague"
bare bones - (plural) the most basic facts or elements; "he told us only the bare bones of the story"
pertainym - meaning relating to or pertaining to
teaser - an attention-getting opening presented at the start of a television show
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
كَلِمَةٌ عامِّيَّه أو تَعْبيرٌ عامِّي
hovorový výraz
dagligdags ordhverdagsudtrykkollokvialisme
kötetlen nyelvi kifejezés
talmál
hovorový výraz
konuşma dilinde kullanılan sözcük/deyim

colloquialism

[kəˈləʊkwɪəlɪzəm] N (= word) → palabra f familiar; (= expression) → expresión f familiar; (= style) → estilo m familiar
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

colloquialism

[kəˈləʊkwiəlɪzəm] n
(= word) → mot m familier (= phrase) → expression f familière
(= colloquial language) → langue f familière
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

colloquialism

n → umgangssprachlicher Ausdruck
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

colloquialism

[kəˈləʊkwɪəlɪz/əm] n → colloquialismo
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

colloquial

(kəˈləukwiəl) adjective
of or used in everyday informal, especially spoken, language. a colloquial expression.
colˈloquially adverb
colˈloquialism noun
an expression used in colloquial language.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
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References in classic literature ?
'Danny Deever,' 'Pharaoh and the Sergeant,' 'Fuzzy Wuzzy,' 'The Ballad of East and West,' 'The Last Chantey,' 'Mulholland's Contract,' and many others, are splendidly stirring, but their colloquialism and general realism put them on a very different level from the work of the great masters who express the deeper truths in forms of permanent beauty.
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Opposition parties have remained suspicious of the purpose of the Sharifs' visit, with many interpreting it as an attempt to coerce an 'NRO' - a colloquialism for cases opened against them to be dropped - by asking the Saudis to exert their influence in Pakistan.
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With the 'You're More Than Just A Pretty Face' campaign, we hope to inspire women to love everything about themselves, playing off the well-known colloquialism, while also reminding them to make the most of their biggest natural beauty asset, their skin--without taking ourselves too seriously."
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"With the 'You're More Than Just a Pretty Face' campaign, we hope to inspire women to love everything about themselves, playing off the wellknown colloquialism, while also reminding them to make the most of their biggest natural beauty asset, their skin, without taking ourselves too seriously."
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Gitanjali (Song Offerings), Gora (Fair-Faced), and Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World) are some of his best-known works, and his verse, short stories, and novels were acclaimed for their lyricism, colloquialism, naturalism, and unnatural contemplation.
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Environmental health professionals have played a key role in ensuring that this type of colloquialism will never occur again through their endeavors in making workplaces safe.
Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite
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I only hope it is an attempt to ridicule the way Scunthorpe folk speak and neither a sexual reference nor a colloquialism for a body part.
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