- the act or an instance of transforming ideas into words
- a manifestation of an emotion, feeling, etc, without words
- communication of emotion through music, painting, etc
- a look on the face that indicates mood or emotion
- the choice of words, phrases, syntax, intonation, etc, in communicating
- a particular phrase used conventionally to express something
- the act or process of forcing or squeezing out a liquid
- a variable, function, or some combination of constants, variables, or functions
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ex•pres•sion /ɪkˈsprɛʃən/USA pronunciation
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- the act of expressing or setting forth in words:[uncountable]the free expression of opinions.
- [countable] a particular word, phrase, or form of words: "Round the bend'' is an old-fashioned expression meaning "crazy.''
- [uncountable] the manner or form in which a thing is expressed: delicacy of expression.
- a look on the face or a sound of the voice showing personal feeling:[countable]She had a happy expression on her face.
- Mathematics a mathematical symbol or set of symbols representing a value, relation, or the like:[countable]E = mc2 is an expression about the relationship of mass and energy.
ex•pres•sion
(ik spresh′ən),USA pronunciation n.
ex•pres′sion•al, adj.
ex•pres′sion•less, adj.
ex•pres′sion•less•ly, adv.
- the act of expressing or setting forth in words:the free expression of political opinions.
- a particular word, phrase, or form of words:old-fashioned expressions.
- the manner or form in which a thing is expressed in words;
wording;
phrasing:delicacy of expression. - the power of expressing in words:joy beyond expression.
- indication of feeling, spirit, character, etc., as on the face, in the voice, or in artistic execution:the lyric expression embodied in his poetry.
- a look or intonation expressing personal reaction, feeling, etc.:a shocked expression.
- the quality or power of expressing an attitude, emotion, etc.:a face that lacks expression; to read with expression.
- the act of expressing or representing, as by symbols.
- Mathematicsa symbol or a combination of symbols representing a value, relation, or the like.
- Linguisticsthe stylistic characteristics of an utterance (opposed to meaning).
- Linguisticsthe system of verbal utterances specific to a language (opposed to content).
- the act of expressing or pressing out.
- Computinga combination of variables, constants, and functions linked by operation symbols and any required punctuation that describe a rule for calculating a value.
- Genetics
- the action of a gene in the production of a protein or a phenotype.
- expressivity (def. 2).
- Latin expressiōn- (stem of expressiō) a pressing out. See express, -ion
- late Middle English 1425–75
ex•pres′sion•less, adj.
ex•pres′sion•less•ly, adv.
- 1. utterance, declaration, assertion, statement. 2. term, idiom. See phrase. 3. language, diction, phraseology. 5. manifestation, sign. 6. aspect, air.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
expression /ɪkˈsprɛʃən/ n
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'expression' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
abreaction
- accidence
- acclaim
- acclamation
- acknowledgment
- agreed
- air
- algebraic
- allegedly
- ambiguity
- amphibology
- apology
- approximate
- archaism
- ASA/BS
- aspect
- associative
- asymptotic
- Atticism
- aw-shucks
- away
- bada-bing
- bah
- barbarism
- baton
- beat
- beauty
- binomial
- black diamond
- blame
- blank
- bold
- boo
- bouquet
- brevity
- brow
- cash in
- check
- chur
- circumlocution
- clamour
- clarity
- classicism
- cliché
- complaint
- conceit
- condolence
- connection
- conversion
- conversion therapy
