Definition

A group of words whose meaning as a whole cannot be deduced from the meanings of individual words, such as 'raining cats and dogs' or 'piece of cake.' Idioms are culturally specific and reflect the unique character of a language.

Example Usage

She said the project was a 'piece of cake,' using an idiom to express that it was easy.

Origin

From Greek 'idioma,' meaning 'peculiarity' or 'private property,' derived from 'idios' (one's own, private).

Fun Fact

Idioms are notoriously difficult for non-native speakers and machine translation to interpret correctly, as literal translation yields nonsensical results.

Source: Definition backfill (hailey)

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See “idiom” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

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