Idioms and phrases

Idioms and phrases

The Free Dictionary's Idioms dictionary is the largest collection of English idioms and slang in the world. It contains more than 60,000 entries from several of the most trusted names in publishing.

Search by keyword or full phrase to get clear, in-depth definitions of American idioms, British idioms, and idioms and slang from throughout the English-speaking world.

The collection includes idioms, slang terms, phrasal verbs, proverbs, clichés, regionalisms, colloquialisms, expressions, sayings, abbreviations, and more.

Along with the idiom definitions, you'll find thousands of example sentences illustrating how the idioms are used by native speakers in everyday speech.

Plus, get details about the origin and history of both common idioms and rare ones, including in which countries they're used most.

The Farlex Dictionary of Idioms also includes exclusive animated idioms videos with illustrated definitions and example sentences.

collection

A collection is a group of things, often a group created by someone. For example, many kids have a collection of comic books.

Notice the word collect in collection. If you like to collect — that is, gather — things, chances are you might have a collection of some sort. Some common types of collections are of books, stamps, and dolls. You can also refer to a museum's "collection of art." While you might call a group of people a gathering, you would call a group of rare coins a collection.

• 
  The action of making known one's thoughts or feelings.
  

‘the prisoners developed a dialect as an everyday means of expression’

count noun ‘she accepted his expressions of sympathy’

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Synonyms

1. 
   1.1The conveying of feeling in a work of art or in the performance of a piece of music.
   

‘the testimony of musicians who worked with him proves that his overwhelming concern was with expression’

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• 
  2count noun A look on someone's face that conveys a particular emotion.
  

‘a sad expression’

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Synonyms

• 
  3count noun A word or phrase, especially an idiomatic one, used to convey an idea.
  

‘we have an expression, ‘You don't get owt for nowt.’’

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1. 
   3.1Mathematics A collection of symbols that jointly express a quantity.
   

‘the expression for the circumference of a circle is 2πr’

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• 
  4The production of something by pressing it out.
  

‘essential oils obtained by distillation or expression’

Synonyms

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  5Genetics
  The appearance in a phenotype of a characteristic or effect attributed to a particular gene.
  

‘expression of the TAT gene is restricted to the parenchymal cells’