Idiom — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language

the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ˈɪdɪəm/

🇬🇧British English

/ˈɪdɪəm/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ˈɪdɪəm/

2 syllables Say it as /ˈɪdɪəm/.

Examples

the immigrants spoke an odd dialect of English
he has a strong German accent
it has been said that a language is a dialect with an army and navy

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

dialect set phrase artistic style accent phrase parlance phrasal idiom idiomatic expression

Parts of Speech

noun	a manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language
noun	the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people “the immigrants spoke an odd dialect of English”
noun	the style of a particular artist or school or movement “an imaginative orchestral idiom”
noun	an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up

Word Forms

idiomatic	adjective	of or relating to or conforming to idiom
idiomatical	adjective	of or relating to or conforming to idiom
dialectal	adjective	belonging to or characteristic of a dialect
accentuate	verb	put stress on; utter with an accent
phrasal	adjective	of or relating to or functioning as a phrase
phrase	verb	put into words or an expression

Around the World

Europe

🇫🇷French

idiome

une manière de parler naturelle aux locuteurs natifs d'une langue

🇪🇸Spanish

modismo

una manera de hablar que es natural para los hablantes nativos de un idioma

🇮🇹Italian

idioma

un modo di parlare naturale per i madrelingua di una lingua

🇳🇱Dutch

idioom

een manier van spreken die natuurlijk is voor moedertaalsprekers van een taal

🇵🇹Portuguese

idioma

uma maneira de falar que é natural para falantes nativos de uma língua

🇷🇺Russian

идиома

манера речи, естественная для носителей языка

India

🇮🇳Hindi

मुहावरा

बोलने का एक तरीका जो किसी भाषा के मूल वक्ताओं के लिए स्वाभाविक है

🇮🇳Tamil

பழமொழி

ஒரு மொழியைத் தாய்மொழியாகக் கொண்டவர்களுக்கு இயல்பான பேச்சு முறை

🇮🇳Telugu

యాస

ఒక భాష మాట్లాడేవారికి సహజంగా ఉండే మాట్లాడే విధానం

🇮🇳Marathi

मुहावरा

भाषेच्या मूळ भाषिकांसाठी नैसर्गिक बोलण्याची पद्धत

🇮🇳Gujarati

રૂઢિપ્રયોગ

બોલવાની એક રીત જે ભાષાના મૂળ બોલનારા લોકો માટે કુદરતી છે

🇮🇳Kannada

ಭಾಷಾವೈಶಿಷ್ಟ್ಯ

ಒಂದು ಭಾಷೆಯನ್ನು ಮಾತನಾಡುವವರಿಗೆ ಸ್ವಾಭಾವಿಕವಾದ ಮಾತನಾಡುವ ವಿಧಾನ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ഭാഷാപ്രയോഗം

ഒരു ഭാഷ സംസാരിക്കുന്നവർക്ക് സ്വാഭാവികമായ ഒരു സംസാര രീതി

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਮੁਹਾਵਰਾ

ਬੋਲਣ ਦਾ ਇੱਕ ਤਰੀਕਾ ਜੋ ਕਿਸੇ ਭਾਸ਼ਾ ਦੇ ਮੂਲ ਬੋਲਣ ਵਾਲਿਆਂ ਲਈ ਕੁਦਰਤੀ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

محاورہ

بولنے کا ایک انداز جو کسی زبان کے مقامی بولنے والوں کے لیے فطری ہے۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

成语

对某种语言的母语者来说很自然的说话方式

🇯🇵Japanese

イディオム

言語の母語話者にとって自然な話し方

🇰🇷Korean

관용구

해당 언어의 원어민에게 자연스러운 말하는 방식

🇻🇳Vietnamese

thành ngữ

một cách nói tự nhiên của người bản ngữ của một ngôn ngữ

🇹🇭Thai

สำนวน

ลักษณะการพูดที่เป็นธรรมชาติของเจ้าของภาษา

🇵🇭Filipino

idyoma

isang paraan ng pagsasalita na natural sa mga katutubong nagsasalita ng isang wika

🇲🇾Malay

simpulan bahasa

cara pertuturan yang semula jadi kepada penutur asli sesuatu bahasa

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

لغة

طريقة التحدث الطبيعية للمتحدثين الأصليين للغة

🇮🇷Persian

اصطلاح

روشی از صحبت کردن که برای گویشوران بومی یک زبان طبیعی است

🇹🇷Turkish

deyim

bir dili anadili olarak konuşanlar için doğal olan bir konuşma tarzı

🇮🇱Hebrew

נִיב

צורת דיבור טבעית לדוברי שפה שפת אם

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'idiom'?

The primary meaning of 'idiom' is 'a manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'idiom' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'idiom' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'idiom' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'idiom' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'idiom' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'idiom' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'idiom' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'idiom' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'idiom' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'idiom' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted