- (colloquialism) a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech
- A colloquialism is a linguistic phrase that is characteristic of or only appropriate for casual, ordinary, familiar, and/or informal written or spoken conversation, rather than for formal speech, standard writing, or paralinguistics. ...
- (Colloquialism) a word or phrase used in informal language only.
- (Colloquialism) A word, phrase, or form of pronunciation that is acceptable in casual conversation but not in formal, written communication. It is considered more acceptable than slang. ...
- (COLLOQUIALISM) A word or phrase used everyday in plain and relaxed speech, but rarely found in formal writing. (Compare with cliché, jargon and slang.)
- (4.22 Colloquialism) Deadening professional jargon is the Scylla of bad style; colloquialism is the Charybdis: a salty everdayness will be welcomed if it is acute to its task, but colloquialism is usually slack and imprecise. For example
- (Colloquialism) "n. an expression used in ordinary conversation, but not regarded as slang" (Webster's Encyclopedia of Dictionaries 77); "simply informal English" (Historical Dictionary of American Slang)
- (Colloquialism) A regionally bound word formation and sounding, specific to particular areas within any given country. Many colloquialisms are now found in dictionaries, having been widely accepted as formal language.
- (Colloquialism) An expression that is usually accepted in informal situations and certain locations. Example: “He really grinds my beans”.
- (colloquialism) a commonly used word or phrase that may be inappropriate for a formal writing (can include words, phrases, aphorisms, slang, jargon, etc.)
- (colloquialism) informal word or phrase such as a lot, in a bind, pulled it off, and so on. These words are regularly used in conversations between friends, rather than in official written communication.