IDIOM

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does idiom mean? 

• IDIOM (noun)
  The noun IDIOM has 4 senses:

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

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

3. the style of a particular artist or school or movement

4. an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up

  Familiarity information: IDIOM used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• IDIOM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

idiom; parlance

Hypernyms ("idiom" is a kind of...):

expression; formulation (the style of expressing yourself)

Derivation:

idiomatic; idiomatical (of or relating to or conforming to idiom)

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

accent; dialect; idiom

Context example:

it has been said that a language is a dialect with an army and navy

Hypernyms ("idiom" is a kind of...):

non-standard speech (speech that differs from the usual accepted, easily recognizable speech of native adult members of a speech community)

Domain member usage:

bang; spang (leap, jerk, bang)

euphonious ((of speech or dialect) pleasing in sound; not harsh or strident)

forrad; forrard; forward; forwards; frontward; frontwards (at or to or toward the front)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "idiom"):

eye dialect (the use of misspellings to identify a colloquial or uneducated speaker)

patois (a regional dialect of a language (especially French); usually considered substandard)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The style of a particular artist or school or movement

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

artistic style; idiom

Context example:

an imaginative orchestral idiom

Hypernyms ("idiom" is a kind of...):

fashion; manner; mode; style; way (how something is done or how it happens)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "idiom"):

baroque; baroqueness (elaborate and extensive ornamentation in decorative art and architecture that flourished in Europe in the 17th century)

classical style (the artistic style of ancient Greek art with its emphasis on proportion and harmony)

order ((architecture) one of original three styles of Greek architecture distinguished by the type of column and entablature used or a style developed from the original three by the Romans)

rococo (fanciful but graceful asymmetric ornamentation in art and architecture that originated in France in the 18th century)

High Renaissance (the artistic style of early 16th century painting in Florence and Rome; characterized by technical mastery and heroic composition and humanistic content)

treatment (a manner of dealing with something artistically)

neoclassicism (revival of a classical style (in art or literature or architecture or music) but from a new perspective or with a new motivation)

classicalism; classicism (a movement in literature and art during the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe that favored rationality and restraint and strict forms)

Romantic Movement; Romanticism (a movement in literature and art during the late 18th and early 19th centuries that celebrated nature rather than civilization)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

idiom; idiomatic expression; phrasal idiom; phrase; set phrase

Hypernyms ("idiom" is a kind of...):

expression; locution; saying (a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations)

Domain member usage:

out of whack (out of balance or out of adjustment)

in the lurch (in a difficult or vulnerable position)

like clockwork (with regularity and precision)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "idiom"):

ruralism; rusticism (a rural idiom or expression)

Derivation:

idiomatic (of or relating to or conforming to idiom)